Change My Life
by GetWellHarley
Summary: When the Cullens leave, Bella finds out the hard way that the Swan line has a bit of Quileute blood. She goes through the ups and downs of being part of a pack, and accepts the healing they offer her broken heart. However, when the Cullens come back and she imprints on a Cullen that isn't Edward, Bella will have to learn how to forgive and how hard it is to let go. BelxJas
1. Chapter 1

**Harley: **This is a fic of mine that I had on a different profile, one that I dropped. I decided to repost it here. If it gets a good reception I'll try and keep writing.

Disclaimer: I don't own.

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Chapter 1

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For a moment, nothing seemed real. My whole world had been delicately balanced in his palm, and then dropped down to Earth where it shattered like glass. My mind was scrambling, trying to collect a coherent thought other than _'He left...'_. My whole body felt paralyzed, shocked to a state of stillness. I couldn't hear anything except for my heart drumming a tuneless solo inside my chest. It made such beautiful noise, despite being broken.

I felt like my emotions were oozing out of me, an ice-like pain filling in the void they left behind in their frantic escape from my body. It was taking over my sense of numb, starting in my finger tips and toes before spreading like cancer. It ran its way up my arms and legs, lacing with my blood like some kind of super-parasite. It was eating me alive from the inside out, dowsing my whole being in pain. My heart was filled with coals, and I could feel them burning red-hot with each breath I took. The pain was so cold that it burned, and was then clinging to the insides of my stomach. I was so hurt, so full of pain, and my body was showing it.

I could understand why he wouldn't want someone like me. That, I almost expected. It hurt so much more then I could have ever imagined, but that wasn't what was killing me the most on the inside. His family, the ones who had taken me in and made me feel like I was truly one of them, had left without a second thought or care and no good-bye. They had toyed with me, just as he had. They would easily for get about me, just like he said they would. I was just a temporary distraction for their little coven. At least Rosalie had been kind enough to not let me think different on her end.

My hand clenched into fists as the pit of my stomach suddenly began to warm up. I began to feel hot, despite the occasional icy drop of rain slithering down the back of my neck. The pain was like a trail of gasoline, the sudden fire inside the core of me catching onto it's trail and blazing to my fingers and toes. I was so hot, burning inside my clothing and skin. It was as though I had just stepped into the desert, even though the setting around me was the chilly forest close to my home.

Tense and twitching, my hands reached for the zipper of my jacket. I fumbled to pull the zipper down, but once it was I was quick to fling the item off of my shoulders. The cool rain felt like heaven when it hit my bare arms, but the sensations wouldn't last long. It seemed that the drops would heat up quickly once they touched my skin and slithered the way gravity pulled them.

I had to be on fire to feel this kind of flame, it burned so fiercly. But there was no heat source around except for me. And the source was, indeed, inside of me. I could feel my temperature rising, and the higher it got the tenser my body felt. I could feel my fingers and toes curl on their own, tensing up to the point that they were cramping. Even my insides were tense, I was barely able to gasp out a breath. The tenser I grew, the more bones and joints I could hear clearly pop and crack from within me. My whole body felt like it was being ripped apart.

My pain slowly boiled into a raging anger that I had never known I was capable of. I could feel it within me, causing my whole body to begin to shake. The tremor was coming from within me. I could see nothing but a blinding crimson-red, and the few breaths that I could actually exhale were coming out in angry huffs. I wanted to destroy something, to hurt something. My mind thought back to Edward, and for a moment I was pleasantly allowed to imagine my weaker human body ripping his perfect one to shreds, and setting him on fire with the flames burning me at that moment.

Tears, burning and hot, fell from my lashes and trailed a warm path down my cheeks. Something was happening, but I couldn't think to ponder what. There was so much pain, physical and emotional, that there were no longer any thoughts passing through my head except for one, continuous mental-scream. It helped me feel a bit better, releasing some of the pent up energy and rage sizzling within me.

My back began to arch, the painful rage twisting me like a pretzel. I threw my head back, no longer able to keep the screaming inside of my mind. I let loose one of the most horrible screams I had ever released before in my life, screaming out my rage and pain for all of Forks to hear.

Suddenly, my whole world exploded. There was a series of violent and loud ripping noises coming from all around me. My scream had gurgled into an animalistic howl, dying short in my throat. The whole world was spinning around me as I fell to the forest floor. All the pain and rage inside was suddenly gone, a soothing, cool wave of relief and release washed over every inch of my body. I lay on the grass for a few more moments, enjoying the new sensation of relief as the last bits of pain throbbed away from my body.

A slow breath came through my nose, and I slowly began to pick myself up. My body felt awkward and flimsy as I began to straighten up, and I quickly found myself falling back onto the wet ground. I let my mind come back into focus before I took a look around me, and then down at my body to see what had ripped so viciously in the earlier events.

My chest seized as I found the body attached to my head not as it used to be. Two paws, both a deep-chocolate brown, had taken the place of my hands. I slowly pulled myself onto what would have been a hands and knees position, but was actually all-fours in my new body. I gently put pressure on each of my new legs, my mind and heart racing in panic. I looked around me, seeing the world in a sharper, more detailed view. I could feel the ears atop my head twitch and swivel at sounds I shouldn't be able to hear, sounds that should've been too far away to hear.

I moved forward slowly, getting used to the way my body moved and worked. I found myself standing in front of a small puddle. I peered at its murky the ripples and droplets of rain, I found myself staring at the face of a wolf with slightly shaggy brown fur, and brown eyes the same color as the ones I gazed into every morning in the mirror.

A yip escaped me, a puppy-sounding noise coming through my muzzle. I scrambled away from the puddle so that I wouldn't have to look my new body in the eyes. Would I be stuck like this forever? Why did this happen? I was so terrified and confused, and before I could control it a small whine shook my vocal chords, coming out of my chest.

My breath was coming through my nose in heavy puffs that made my chest heave and rumble. I was in a state of panic, when suddenly there was a pressure at the front of my mind. It felt as though someone had squeezed their own thoughts into my mind, and for a moment I could catch this persons thoughts and snippets of their surroundings when it suddenly seemed like they noticed my presence.

_"Oh shit..."_ A voice that wasn't mine echoed through my head.

My head whipped around, almost expecting to see someone standing around me. Instead of seeing someone, I found myself alone and finding that the voice truly had been inside my mind. My heart jolted in my chest, and I was more confused that ever. I was mentally panicking, while the voice was trying to get me to calm down.

_"Wait! Please, wait! Just... Damn it, this is Sam's job, not mine!"_ The voice seemingly complained, and for a moment I was reminded of a certain Cullen.

My whole mood changed. The panic and confusion washed away as I thought about what had transpired before my weird transformation. I let my body collapse onto the ground, and I let my eyes closed. My heart was beating painfully within my new body, but even with the change I could still feel its pain. It was like having a bunch of little paper cuts on my inside, the ones that flared up if something barely brushed against its surface. With every breath, those little cuts flared up on my heart and made it feel as though it were being squeezed.

I could feel the voice's shock at the edge of my mind, and it mumbled a few awkward words of comfort, not seeming skilled in the area of mending a girl's shattered life.

Edward. Alice. Esme. Carlisle. Rosalie. Emmett. Jasper.

Their names and faces flooded my mind, which had begun to run like a movie. It went through the small moments that had meant so much, and the mental pictures I had managed to capture and hang onto despite my crushed spirit. I longed to have them back again, because I cared so much about them. And that was what hurt the most. I cared so much about them, even Rosalie, yet they hadn't even cared enough to stick around and tell me good-bye.

There was a bit of disgust radiating from the voice's end of our conjoined mind, but it was outshine by his shock and panic.

_"You... You're Bella Swan," _the voice said slowly, seeming as though it was trying to convince itself. _'Oh man... this isn't good.'_

The voice went silent for a while, leaving me in my sulking and sorrow. I didn't bother with it. I believed that if I convinced myself enough that I would realize that I had just gone mental from a broken heart and allow myself to get locked up in some white, padded room. It wouldn't have surprised me if I had suddenly woke up and found that I had just imagined it all as a temporary distraction from my pain.

There was suddenly another presence inside my head. This one was different, I could feel it. It was more potent then the other, and something about it made me feel a bit attached, like I needed to follow it. The presence was strong, I could feel it. The whole feeling I had towards it was weird. It was like a suddenly loyalty and trust had suddenly filled me, and I didn't like it. I didn't know these voices, even if they were a figment of my fracture mind.

_"Bella?"_ A voice, much stronger and more authoritative than the first, filled my mind.

I shook my wolfy head, almost trying to knock the voices out of my mind. I refused to believe it was happening.

_"It is happening, Bella. I'm sorry, but this is real. We will be there in a moment and we will be able to explain better,"_ The voice said, and I could see little flashes of the forest inside my mind. It was almost as if I was seeing bits of his own surroundings inside my own head.

_"We?"_ I asked slowly, wondering if they could hear me and if it considered even more crazy to talk back to the voices in your head.

There was a bit of amusement coming from him. _"We can hear you. I am Sam Uley, and Jared was the one you spoke to earlier. Paul will be joining us soon."_

Suddenly there was a third presence, and I was left wondering how my brain didn't explode from all the extra minds linking to mine. Maybe this had been how Edward had felt when he read minds, just without the being able to talk back. I felt a flash of pain in my chest, and a whimper escaped me.

There was a large feeling of disgust coming from the third presence in my mind, and a new voice snarled, _"She's a fucking leech lover!"_

_"Paul!"_ Sam's powerful voice vibrated through my skull, _"Keep your mouth shut."_

This Paul guy grumbled angrily to himself, but obediently kept quiet like Sam had ordered. The command had some kind of magic, it made me want to be silent myself. There was something off about Sam, I could tell just from listening to his voice and seeing how the other two followed and listened to him.

My ears twitched, and my head snapped towards were I could hear the sound of huge footsteps racing towards me. I shakily got onto my paws, watching the direction of the noise as it grew louder and louder. The sound slowed as it was just outside of my sight, and suddenly three wolves silkily moved from the shadows. All three were a bit larger than my own form, which was scary considering even my own wolf form was bigger than a normal wolf's.

The one in the center was the largest. It's fur was as black as night, a deep ebony, and his whole being radiated authority. The two flanking it were a bit smaller, but larger then me non-the-less. The one on the right was a dark silver, and seemed to be snarling in disgust. On the other side was a brown wolf with dark fur around his face, his mood seemingly mild about the situation. It was easy for me to match voices to furry-faces.

_"Bella?"_ Sam's voice said, and the black wolf tilted his head slightly.

I shivered slightly, and I could my tail tucking in fright._ "Sam?"_ I replied carefully, terrified of the much larger wolf.

_"It's alright, we will not hurt you,"_ Sam said, snarling at the silver wolf when he let out a small puff of noise, almost like a scoff. _"Paul, behave."_

The silver wolf almost seemed to roll his eyes, but straightened up a bit with the command. I watched him carefully, Sam's words not comforting me about his presence.

_"Bella, you have shifted. This has been a trait of the Quileutes from many generations. However, only those with the gene are supposed to shift. Do you know if you have any Quileute blood in your line?"_ Sam asked, lowering his large head so that our eyes could meet easier.

I shook my head. Neither Charlie or Renee had ever mentioned anything of the sort to me before. It seemed like it would've been an important thing to mention, considering we lived only minutes away from the Quileute reservation. But, now, it seemed, that I was somehow related to the Quileutes despite being as pale as snow.

A thoughtful rumbled purred through Sam's chest, and he shifted on his paws. _"We will have to figure this out. First, we need to get you phased back. Give me a moment."_

Sam turned and passed Jared and Paul, going behind the tree line. A few noises traveled from behind the trees, when I heard the wet grass shifting. There was a shift of fabric, and a large Quileute man stepped out of the tree line. He wore a pair of shorts that used to be jeans, but had been cut at the knees. It was all he wore, showing off a broad, toned chest and a proud tattoo on his upper arm. His hair was short and spiky, black as night. His skinned was darkly tanned, and would've been a great contrast from my own.

"Alright," Sam said, his voice the same as it had been inside my head. "When phasing back you need to be focusing. If you want to keep your decency, then I suggest you go behind the trees. Your closed ripped during the transformation, like they will every time."

I looked around me slowly, and found that he was right. Shreds of my shirt and jeans were littered all over the wet and muddy ground, with the except of the jacket that I had peeled off before I had turned. If I could've flushed with embarrassment, I would've. However, I listened to his words and turned around. I walked behind the trees and waited for further instruction.

"Now just relax your mind and clear it. Think of your human form, and concentrate. It takes a bit with your first time. Once you get used to it you won't even need to concentrate. But, don't rush it," He ordered, his voice easily reaching me with my new sense of hearing.

I closed my eyes, and took in a deep breath. I could hear Jared in my head, trying to help coach me along. I let his voice drift into the back of my mind, breathing slowly. I tried to picture myself, but the picture I kept seeing was one of Edward and I, and the pain of my memories was getting in the way of my peace. I shook my head, and instead pictured one I had taken before I had left Renee. She had an arm around me, and I had one around her. I still looked mostly the same, except my hair was a bit lighter from being in the sun all the time.

The world shifted for a second, and I found myself crouching on the ground. I slowly stood, blushing when I realized that I was stark naked.

A hand reached behind the tree, a pair of shorts and my jacket clutched in its grasp. I took them slowly, whispering a small thank you. I slipped on the shorts and jacket. I had to hold up the shorts, for they were too big to fit on my smaller hips. However, I made due and slowly stepped around the tree line.

Jared and Paul were gone, and only Sam stood in the small clearing. I looked away from him, and up at the rain dripping from the leaves above. I wasn't cold in the least, even as they dripped down my bare neck and back. Even the cold air, that usually called for pants and jacket to be even close to comfortable, didn't bother me in the least. My bare legs were as warm as could be, and my feet that were tangled in the wet, cold grass were as comfortable as could be.

"I'm not cold," I said slowly.

Sam nodded. "All of us are naturally warmer then everyone else. Hot enough for some people to notice, so be a bit careful about touching others."

I nodded in confirmation instantly. It was though my first instinct was to listen to every word Sam told me. That still bothered me, and I was still confused.

"I need to speak of Chief Swan," Sam said, and began to lead us out of the forest and towards my home.

I followed him, and let him in. I called my father at the station once inside, telling him that there was an emergency at home and that he needed to come as quick as he could. When I placed the phone down, I saw a note sitting on the counter. It was in my hand writing, but I had no memory of writing it. It said that it was me and that I had went for a walk with Edward into the woods. When I realized Edward must have forged it, I instantly picked it up and ripped it to as many pieces as I could. I tossed them into the trash, ignoring Sam's questioning glance.

"I... I'm going to go upstairs and change," I told him, waiting until I had his confirmation before ascending the stairs.

When I reached my room, I allowed myself a moment to cry. I slid down to the floor, and buried my face in my knees. I could hear Sam downstairs, which no doubt meant that he could hear me so I muffled my cries into my arm. I felt like a complete freak in my skin. Edward didn't want me, his whole family didn't want me, and suddenly I can change into a wolf. Who would except someone like me? The used toy for vampires.

I slowed myself down, and took in a breath. I couldn't let myself completely break. Now was the time I needed to be strongest the most. For Charlie, and for myself. Big changes were happening, and I had to try and recover, no matter how much I hurt physically and mentally.

Wiping the wetness off my cheeks, I moved to my dresser and pulled out some new clothing. I let the shorts just fall right off my hips, and replaced them with my undergarments and jeans. I unzipped my jacket and quickly put on a bra and tee-shirt. I stood there for a moment, feeling uncomfortable in the leg area. Finally, I peeled off my jeans and rummaged through my drawers until I found a buried pair of boy-shorts I had from Arizona. I slipped them on, and the airy material allowed me to feel more comfortable.

Taking one more deep, calming breath I picked up the shorts and my brush before heading back down stairs. Sam had made himself comfortable on the couch, looking up when I reached the last step. I threw the shorts to him before I began to run my brush through my hair. Sam watched me, his eyes slightly narrowed.

I looked at him curiously, but he just shrugged and looked away. I went back to brushing my hair when I heard the sound of Charlie's cruiser. However, it wasn't coming up the drive like it normally was when I heard it. Instead, I could hear that it had just turned the corner onto our street and was making it's way towards the house. My new hearing was so fascinating, even though I was still a bit frightened of what I had become.

Sam and I both listened as the cruiser came to a stop and Charlie's racing footsteps ran for the house. The front door slammed open, and Charlie hurried into the room.

"Bella, Bel-..." The shout died slowly in his throat as his eyes locked upon my uninjured form.

His eyes traveled over to same, and the light in them changed slightly. He slowly let his bag down onto the floor, looking between the two of us. "What's going on?"

"Chief," Sam greeted, standing up so that he could shake Charlie's hand. When he did so, I could see a vein in Charlie's neck throb as he registered just how much strength Sam had. "I had some questions I wanted to ask you."

Charlie nodded slowly. "Alright."

The three of us settled onto the furniture. Charlie sat in his recliner chair, while Sam and I took seats on the couch. For some reason, I couldn't meet my father's eyes again. I felt like I had betrayed him somehow by becoming something supernatural, something I had tried to protect him from since I had first began to date Edward.

"Chief, I wanted to know if the Swan family was some how connected to the Quileutes," Sam finally broke the silence, looking at my father with his powerful eyes.

I could feel the authority that Sam practically radiated, and I knew that effect his eyes had when he was making eye contact. Telling from my father's face, he had just realized that effect when he made contact with Sam's eyes. I watched the adams apple in his throat bob as he swallowed for a moment.

"Well, yeah. The Swans weren't originally the Swans. They tended to marry outside of the tribe a lot, telling from what little records I had found of my ancestors. So yes, we probably have a little bit of Quileute somewhere inside of us. I had Billy look into it for me once and I am part Quileute from a few ancestors. Why? What is this all about? Bella? Why did you call me at work for this?" Charlie's questions met silence, as I looked away from him once again.

"Then, do you _know_?" Sam asked, putting emphasis on the last word.

Charlie's eyes darted between Sam and I once more. He leaned forward slightly, murmuring softly, "We shouldn't speak about this here."

He hadn't expected me to be able to hear him, but I had. I felt slightly betrayed that my father was keeping things from me. I felt a small , supernatural tremor run through me, but I was quick to try and squash it.

"Cheif, she knows," Sam began. "Today, Bella phased."

I expected that my father wouldn't understand. I thought we would have to explain what that meant, and that Sam would finally explain why it happened to me and my father. However, my father seemed to clearly understand Sam's words. At the end of Sam's sentence his face began to change colors, until it settled on a pale, ghostly white color. Charlie's hands were clutching the arm rests of his chair.

"What? But the Swans... they stopped phasing a long time ago," Charlie said slowly.

I stared at him, seeing him a different light. He had been hiding information from me. Things that would've been nice or important to know. I could taste betrayal on my tongue, and another tremor rolled up my spine. It was more difficult to suppress it this time, and I felt a flash of worry bolt through me.

"She hasn't been showing any signs," Charlie protested suddenly, looking at Sam, "She's been perfectly healthy!"

Sam nodded. "I think it was because she was feeling intense emotions at one time. I don't think the gene was completely active for her, but when you think of the circumstances it makes sense. She was hanging around vampires almost twenty-four seven, so that would also be a cause to activate the gene no matter how small of a part of her it is. That, plus all the emotions she was feeling must have activated the gene without warning. She went through a more painful change then Jared, Paul, or I because she hadn't been sick, she just phased."

Charlie nodded slowly. "That does make some sense..."

My heart was pounding in my ears. Sam had mentioned vampires to Charlie and he hadn't done so much as flinch. I leaned forward, examining him closely. "You knew. You knew about vampires."

Charlie's eyes found mine, and I no longer had trouble staring into his eyes. He seemed upset, but knew that he had been caught. Slowly, he nodded his confirmation. "Yes, I knew. I knew about the Cullens long before you did. Billy told me about this world once it was proven that the Swan line had Quileute blood in it."

"But," I said quickly, "Edward. He could read minds. He would've known that you knew!"

To my dismay, Charlie nodded once again. "Edward and I spoke of it once. I told him that he would be allowed to continue dating you if he didn't tell you that I knew. I didn't want you to find out that I knew and hadn't told you. I didn't want you to end up hurt, Bells."

"To late for that," I whispered harshly, my hands clutching the couch cushions on either sides of me.

Sam's head snapped towards me as my body began to shake. I tensed up slowly, the feelings of betrayal inside of me feeding the fire. I could feel myself falling away from my humanity once again, almost like I was free falling off of a cliff. I felt the wolf inside me clawing towards the surface, ready to growl and snap. I snarled, my fingers tearing right through the fabric of the couch. Charlie was watching me with wide eyes, and I could hear his small, human heart beat pick up pace as he watched his own daughter turn into an animal before his very eyes.

"Bella!" Sam shouted, his eyes flashing, "Go outside! Now!"

I ripped away from the couch, quiet literally, and jumped over the back of it. I ran through the kitchen at speeds and balance that I never would've had before. I threw open the back door and launched myself into, just in time before the whole world exploded around me once again. I fell forward, onto a pair of dark-brown paws. I shook my body a bit, ruffling my long fur, and threw myself onto the ground, burying my face in my paws. I could hear Charlie and Sam step to the backdoor, both watching as I curled up into a small, protective ball.

Nothing would ever be the same.

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**I hope you guys like this. I worked hard on it, and I'm excited to see if any of you like this.**

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Harley: I'm glad you guys are enjoying this! I'm going be doing some editing with the chapters that I already have, so it might take a bit to get the chapters out. But, I have 11 pre-made chapters ready for you guys.**

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Chapter 2

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It was too dangerous for me to live with Charlie any longer. With my new temper, it would be easy for me to hurt the people around me. If they were too close when I phased, I could hurt them beyond a point of healing. Sam told me of this when he explained how his fiancee gained scars across her face, due to him losing control to close to her. The thought of me losing control and permanently scarring someone, especially someone that I loved, scared me senseless. I didn't want to hurt my father, even though I was still very upset with him. I didn't want to hurt anyone. So, it was decided that it would be a lot safer if I moved in with Sam and his fiancee, Emily.

When I got the strength to phase back and get re-dressed, Sam went to call his fiancee to explain what was going on to her. My father and I stood in the kitchen as he did so, both of us too ashamed to look the other in the eyes or attempt conversation. I was ashamed of what I had become and how easily I had lost control around him, and he was ashamed that he had lied and kept secrets from his own daughter.

Sam hung up the phone in the other room, and wandered into the kitchen. He noticed the tense air, and quickly told me to gather my things around. Charlie was visibly upset that I had to leave, but he also seemed to understand that this was something too important to ignore. I could be a potential danger to all humans if I didn't learn self-control. The best way to do that would be to learn from Sam and his small pack of wolves. I could learn how to help people instead of hurt them. Or, at least that was what Sam had told me when he offered me a place to stay.

I didn't understand what he meant by helping people. I could turn into a large wolf. How could that possibly be a benefit to anyone? All it seemed that it would be go for was hurting people, and that wouldn't do a single good thing. I didn't ask questions, however. I was on auto-pilot, allowing everyone to steer me. It wasn't even night yet, but I was so exhausted that I felt as though I could sleep for months. The love of my life, and the family I had cherished, had deserted me and revealed that I had been nothing but a toy, and then I find out my father's secrets and how my ancestors had had the ability to transform into giant wolves.

My more advanced hearing could hear Charlie and Sam downstairs, as I packed my things. Sam excused himself to run back to La Push and get his truck, while my father was merely pacing the kitchen. I listened as Sam shut the back door and ran into the woods. I heard the shifting of fabric, before the sound of paws hitting the ground. I could hear Sam's large wolf form take off into the depths of the woods, in the direction of La Push. Once he was out of ear-shot, I listened to my father.

I paused in my packing when I heard him let out a deep, tired sigh. There was a sliding of wood as he pulled out a chair, and a creak as he settled into it. I stopped listening then, feeling as though I were stepping into his privacy.

I continued packing all of my clothes, trying to block off all sounds passed my room. All the pants and long sleeves seemed so unnecessary now. I hadn't felt a bit of cold since I had changed, actually I felt quiet warm. Warm enough that I had opened my window wide while I packed, letting large waves of cool air to wash into the room. They didn't effect me in the least, and actually felt a bit refreshing against my hot skin.

When I was done packing, I allowed myself to pause. I gazed around me room at the few things I had left behind. Even though I hadn't wanted to come in the first place, this home had grown on me. I would miss everything about it and everything in it. However, I had to give it up if I wanted to make sure that I didn't hurt anyone. Besides, there were so many memories of Edward and I that a part of me longer to be away from it.

The thought of Edward made my heart hurt, and I quickly picked up my bags and left my room.

I traveled across the hall to pick up all of my toiletries. Once that was done, I made the descent down the stairs. Each step I took felt like I was leaving a little piece of me behind. The thought made a big part of me sick to its stomach, while it made a smaller part of me happy that things were changing. The fast pace kept me a bit more distracted, and it didn't allow my broken heart to keep pestering and reminding me of all the hurtful memories I know carried.

While waiting for Sam on the porch, my father came out with me. At first, he just stood next to me and admired the neighborhood. Then he turned to look at me.

I slowly turned myself, meeting his eyes.

"Bells... I'm sorry," He said slowly, "Everything's happening so fast. I don't know what to do to help you, or what to say to tell you how sorry I am that I kept secrets from you. A father is supposed to be able to protect his daughter, but I can't very well protect your from yourself, can I?"

He let out a frustrated sigh, running his hand through his hair. I watched him, and saw just how much this was eating at him. He was losing me, or at least that's what he thought was happening. He thought that he was losing me like he had lost my mother, just like I had convinced him he had when the Cullens and I were running from James. He looked lost, like he had no clue what to do.

I reached forward, wrapping my arms around him. He tensed, his heart rate picking up, before hugging me back. "I'll be back, Cha-... Dad. This won't be forever. Sam is going to help me. You can visit sometime."

I didn't know if I was telling the truth or not, but I would've said anything to try and make my father feel at least a little bit better. I was still upset with him, but this wasn't the time to hold grudges against one of the few people I loved that stuck around. I needed all the help I could get, or I would start to fall apart at the seams. My heart was broken, and my sanity was less than intact at that moment.

We pulled apart at the sound of Sam's truck pulling into the drive. He got out to help me with my bags, and we didn't stick around much longer after that. My father's and my good by had been those last few words I had spoken to him, and the next thing I knew I was inside a truck cab with Sam Uley, watching as the Forks scenery zoomed past. It was a lot of green, but beautiful green none-the-less.

"So, your fiancee... She's okay with this?" I asked, unable to stand the silence inside the cab.

Sam nodded, a peaceful smile now on his lips. "Emily is ecstatic to have another girl around. She said that she'll start calling in to get you transferred to La Push High School on the Res. You won't be returning, however, until you've learned to control yourself a bit more. Until you return back to school, Emily said she would be happy to help with the homework they'll be sending to our home."

I nodded slowly, feeling a bit sick to my stomach with all the change. I would be going to a totally new high school setting, and this new encounter would be a lot more uncomfortable then when I transferred to Forks. When I transferred to Forks, I hadn't been hiding a furry little secret away from the community.

The rest of the ride was in silence, which bothered me a bit. The silence gave me time to think, and the thoughts that kept coming back to me were all about Edward and the Cullens. I felt a bit foolish about, seeing as I had a bigger problem on my hands, one that involved me changing into a furry beast every time I got angry.

When we arrived at Sam's home, after entering La Push and passing almost every house we drove by, I found myself liking it. It was a bit further into the woods than the other homes were. However, it was a quaint looking place. It had a homey feel to it, and you could feel that just by looking on the outside.

The rumbling of Sam's truck died once he turned the key, parking in the drive. The front door to the home opened a few seconds later, and a beautiful woman slowly moved to the front porch. She was a bit small, but was very beautiful. She had the Quileute look to her with the traditional tan skin and ebony hair, making me feel out of place with my pale skin and dark brown hair. The only thing about her that was in the least bit ugly were the scars running down one side of her face, but even those couldn't make her shine any less. They didn't make her look any less beautiful in my eyes, however.

When Sam got out of the truck, she ran up to him quickly. I could see the love in both of their eyes as they embraced, and Sam pressed a chaste kiss to her scars. I was quick to turn away from their display of love, my heart squeezing in my chest. I closed my eyes and for a moment I could see Edward and I in their place, him kissing my cheeks sweetly and lovingly. However, that was no more and the thought of it was just pure torture.

Sam finished greeting his future wife and moved to the back of his truck, picking up my things. "Emily, this is Bella. Bella, this is my fiancee Emily."

I turned to greet her, making sure I stared into her eyes and not at her scars. However, she had other plans and pulled me into a big hug. "It's so nice to meet you. I know you're probably so confused, but don't worry. Everything will work out fine."

Her motherly attitude touched me deeply, even though it reminded me of Esme a bit too much.

Emily and Sam showed me the home, and I was right to think of how it was homey. Even on the inside you couldn't help but feel welcomed and at peace. It was a lovely home, and I couldn't find a single flaw in the room I was staying in, either. The bed was covered in with a quilt and afghan, while the rest of it seemed empty.

"You'll be staying here. I know that you'll probably need knew clothes for your new temperature," Emily said with a small smile, "So we'll go shopping some day soon. You'll especially need a lot of spare stuff around if you're going to rip them all the time, like the rest of the pack does. Dinner is almost ready, so once you're done packing you can come downstairs and join the boys and I."

When I didn't speak, she deflated a little. She turned and was about to leave the room when I replied. "Thank you, so much. This means a lot. Everything it just happening really fast. You didn't have to take me in like this."

She turned around, face beaming. "It's perfectly fine. It's not like it matters much. Paul and Jared are around so often that it's like they live here as well, so I don't mind. At least you're a girl. I get a bit tired of all the boy talk," She laughed, adding a small wink and leaving through the door.

I stood still for a moment, feeling completely out of my element. I took a deep breath to steady myself, before I began to unpack. My clothes fit nicely into the dresser they had provided, but it was still quiet empty even with all of my things inside. I had left a lot of my heavier things back a Charlie's, seeing as I wouldn't need them with my new body heat. I moved onto my knick-knacks instead, setting a picture of my mother and I by the beside table. A picture of my father and I went next to it. There wasn't much else except for little things.

When I finished, I moved downstairs to join Sam and Emily. As I made my way down the steps, my hand trailing the railing, my nose was assaulted by an onslaught of head-spinningly delicious smells. As soon as they hit my nose, my stomach let loose one of the most ferocious and embarrassing growls I had never heard it make before. It began to ache like it had never done before, like I had been starving myself for months and hadn't even smelled food before in my life.

I followed my nose right into the kitchen, where their dining table sat with mountains of food perched atop it. My eyes stuck to the food like glue, and my mouth began to water. My stomach rumbled once more, and I heard dainty laughter come from off to the side.

Tearing my eyes away from the precious food, I saw Emily standing behind the bar with mirth shining in her eyes. She was holding a plate of biscuits in her hands, which was piled higher than any biscuit pile I had ever gazed eyes on before.

"Sam must not have told you," She said, laughing still as she set the plate onto the table with the rest of the food, "You wolves have big appetites. These boys eat like they've never been fed before their whole lives. You might want to grab a plate now and pile it high before I call the boys in, because when it comes to food they're not afraid to fight for it."

I quickly listened to her advice, hearing Sam, Paul, and Jared talking outside in the backyard. Once I had a decent sized plate that was horrifically stacked with more food then I ever would have eaten in one sitting before, Emily called in the boys. I quickly moved out of the way, because even though there was only three of them it sounded like a Safari stampede coming into the home. The food table was immediately flocked, and I watched with an amused face as the guys piled their plates even higher than my own.

"Oi, why did she get to plate first?" Paul complained through a mouthful.

"Because she's a lady," Emily said with a scolding look touching her face.

Sam seemed to stare at Paul over his plate, almost daring him to contradict his fiancee.

As we ate, I contemplated Sam and Emily's relationship. They seemed so perfect together, like two puzzle pieces. Sam was so protective of her, like she was the light of his world. When she was in the room he seemed to brighten, which was weird to see him do since the first time I had met him he had been the serious pack leader. It was like every single bit of his happiness was contained within her, which was precious to see but also a bit painful. I longed to have that once more.

Jared and Paul had moved themselves and their plates into the living room so that they could watch television while they stuffed their faces. I slowly followed them, allowing Sam and Emily to eat together alone. While the two large men settled onto the couch I settled into a near by chair.

"They're really nice together," I said suddenly, drawing only Jared away from the television while Paul continued to watch and stuff his mouth. "Sam and Emily, I mean."

"Well, yeah, she's his imprint," He said between bites, his eyes darting between me and the television.

I tilted my head slowly, my eyes drawing together. "Imprint?"

His eyes widened a bit. "Aw, man, Sam didn't tell you?"

When I shook my head, he turned a bit towards me, his focus now on me and his food instead of the television. "Okay, well, us wolves, we do this thing called imprinting. It's to make sure that our blood line carries out and that wolves will continue to phase whenever there's leeches around. It's kind of like finding your soul mate. You look into their eyes and you know that they're the one, and your whole world suddenly revolves around them."

I blinked a couple of times, and Jared's attention went back to the television. I didn't like the sound of imprinting, not one bit. It almost sounding like force. However, when I thought of Sam and Emily and how naturally they acted around each other, I didn't know what to believe. I felt like I didn't want that. I didn't suddenly want my whole world to go to some stranger. My world should've belonged to Edward, but he threw it away and that hurt me more than anything. Why would I want to give someone else my love and life, when they had the ability to smash it and throw it back in my face like Edward had?

As the amount of food on our plates grew smaller, something seemed to change in the air. I had lifted my head to look absentmindedly at the television, when my nose caught the smell of something sweet. The curious aroma was wafting gently into the room, tickling my nose enticingly. At far as I knew, Emily hadn't cooked anything for desert. However, this was an enticing sweetness. It appealed to me greatly, like a type of pheromone drawing me in.

I looked around, and watched one-by-one as Jared and Paul caught a whiff of them smell. Instead of looking pleased like how I was feeling, they looked disgusted. At first, Jared's nose crinkled, and then Paul snarled. The two of them lept up, almost spilling their plates. They quickly saved them and rushed into the kitchen. I followed, confused.

Right when we entered the smell seemed to reach Sam, who quickly stood as well. Emily seemed to have an understanding as to what was going on and she quickly started moving around the kitchen. I was looking around, confused.

"Bella, you come with us. It's time to show you what we do," Sam said, and lead Paul and Jared out of the house.

I hesitated, before following after them. Sam looked towards me. "To willingly phase you need to focus on your wolf form. Keep a solid picture in your head, and it should work. I don't want to rush you but we need to be quick, before someone gets hurt."

I felt quiet rushed, despite his apology. I closed my eyes, my face bunching up in thought. I pictured myself as a wolf, lean and the dark-brown in color. The fur around my ears and chest were a darker color, almost black. I could see myself running through the forest, moving silkily and gracefully through my natural habitat, looking pleasantly happy. My body gave a mighty tremble, before I found myself standing on four paws. The shredded remains of my clothes were scattered around me once again.

The other three phased and Emily soon came running out of the house. She tied a cord to each of our back legs, including mine. It seemed to be keeping something strapped there, and it felt odd on my leg. I moved my feet back and forth, still feeling a bit confused.

_"Sam, I don't understand. What's going on?"_ I asked mentally, following them quickly as they took off into a run.

_"There are vampires on reservation grounds. We have to destroy them before they make it in and end up killing someone. This is what we phase for, to protect our tribe and keep people safe. We phase because the vampires come. We phase because of the Cullens. When vampires are near by, we change so that we can protect our tribe. The only reason we never went after the Cullens was because of a treaty they made with our ancestors. As long as they follow the rules, they're safe. But that doesn't mean the same for any other vampires who cross our path,"_ He explained quickly, leading us through the forest terrain as the sweet smell got stronger.

The onslaught of information left my head spinning, and I didn't know how to feel. The Cullens made the Quileutes, who were apparently my people, change into large wolves so that they could protect people from vampires. The Culllens were safe from the Quileutes because of an old treaty. The Pack lived to killed any vampires who entered reservation grounds. We were about to kill a vampire.

_"But vampires are strong!"_ I protested, remembering how little Alice had once ripped off James's head while her brothers held his arms back, _"We'll get hurt!"_

_"Please!"_ Paul scoffed, _"Why do you think we are larger than normal wolves? We were made to kill these creatures. They may be strong, but we're stronger. Watch and learn, pup."_

The silver wolf in front of me suddenly broke off to the side, and Jared did the same. I continued to follow Sam, watching as Paul and Jared began to loop ahead of us. Slowly, I reached Sam's side. It was so odd to run on all fours, yet something about it felt natural. It felt right, and it was easy. I wasn't losing my breath like I should've been, instead I seemed to be able to take in breath easily and keep moving faster and faster. I kept my pace however, fearful of passing Sam and finding myself facing a creature that I used to be pray to.

_"Don't be afraid, Bella,"_ Sam thought to me, the black wolf's eyes occasionally looking my way, _"We won't let it hurt you. For right now you are to just watch. Soon you'll be able to help us."_

I didn't know how I felt about suddenly having all this pushed onto my plate. I now understood what Sam had meant when he said he could help me learn how to help people. However, I didn't know if I was strong enough to be some kind of protector of people. To accept a job saving lives meant that I also had to deal with the failure. Someone could die if I messed up, and I didn't need that on my plate along with dealing with my own inner turmoil.

_"There!"_ Sam said suddenly, _"Jared, Paul, are you guys ready?"_

_"Yes!"_ Jared replied quickly, a note of excitement in his voice.

_"Of course,"_ Paul cockily replied, a sense of confidence coming from his end of our linked minds.

I looked ahead to see what they were talking about, and saw it. She was a blonde vampire, which made me internally panic as I was reminded of Rosalie. She was running from us at top speed, and I was surprised to see that we were gaining on her. Her blond curls were whipping in the wind, and when she looked over her shoulder at Sam and I, I could see the flash of crimson eyes. Her face was unfamiliar, and she was too short to be the only female, blonde Cullen, I realized finally.

_"Now!"_ Sam barked, speeding forward.

Jared and Paul moved in on either side of her, blocking her in. I watched as they took snaps at her whilst also dodging her fists and kicks. She struggled to pick up speed, hissing and spitting venom. Jared caught her ankle in his mouth and pulled, sending her skidding to the ground. In a flash she was back up, cornered by three large wolves.

I stayed back, fear and adrenaline pumping through my veins. I had never experienced such a rush before.

Sam snapped at her and she swung, causing him to jump back.

"Stay away from me you filthy animals," She spat, her accent some kind of European descent.

She suddenly moved towards Paul's side, and he lunged forward. She swung under him and kicked out, catching his hip. He growled, and I could hear the bone cracking all the way from where I was. She threw herself at Paul, attempting to get her arms around him. Jared and Sam were apon her, snapping their jaws and using their claws to try and pull her away from their pack mate.

The vampiress swiftly swung through them, twisting away from them. For a moment, her eyes caught mine and a terrible cold chill rolled down my spine. In a split second, she had suddenly thrown herself at me.

_"Bella!"_ I heard yelled, but I didn't decipher who.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl, and I was frozen in fear. In the back ground I could see the pack scrambling to intercept her, but she was to quick in her choice to suddenly pin point me.

It hit me then. She had realized that I was the weak link. I had been staying away from the fight, and it was obvious that I was smaller than the rest of the pack. It wasn't hard to see that I wasn't as strong as they were, and she was about to use that to her advantage. The thought made my insides turn. I was tired of being taken advantage of. Used. Hurt. Toyed with. I was tired of being the one that people played with.

My insides flared as I snarled in anger, and in the last second launched myself forward. My claws dug into her shoulders, and I could hear her screaming as we tumbled. She struggled for dominance, but I wouldn't let her have it as she floundered against me. I clawed at her, unsure of what to do now that I had her pinned.

_"Throat! Go for the throat!"_ I heard Paul and Jared yelling.

I instantly went down, snapping my teeth. I expected to feel my teeth shatter when they were about to go down into her rock-solid skin, but instead they tore into her flesh like a hot knife through butter. Her hissing and screaming died into a horrific gurgle as I tore right through her neck. I could feel Jared and Paul's presence on either side of me, and before I had any idea what was happening they took hold of her arms and tore them from her sockets.

I pounced away, watching them finish the job. My insides were cold, horrified at what had just happened. All the anger I had been feeling I had just taken out on another being. I had viciously tore her head from her body without a second thought. I felt like a monster, but Paul and Jared were inwardly cheering.

When I realized that I couldn't hear Sam's thoughts anymore, I glanced around. I saw him, in human form. He pulled the cord Emily had strapped to him off of his ankle. In it was a pair of shorts and a lighter. He quickly pulled on the shorts and flicked the lighter. The small flame danced in the soft wind, bending and twisting like an orange snake.

I watched as Sam tilted the flames into the vampiress's twitching remains. The fire started so easily that you would've believed she had been the solidified version of gasoline. One touch of the flame had started a fierce burning, running all across her skin. It burned up her torn arms and down her legs. The smell coming off of is was almost as though someone had taken the taste of pure sugar and turned it into a scent, blowing into the air like the sweetest piece of candy being cooked in chocolate.

Once the fire reached her decapitated head, she began to scream in agony.

The noise was deafening, and I wanted to turn away from the horrific sight but I couldn't. I watched as she burned into ashes, screaming until she couldn't scream any longer. I watched the ashes burn, blocking out the sound of Jared and Paul praising each other on a job well done. I couldn't tear myself away from our fire, unable to believe that it had been a blood-sucking vampire only seconds before.

A part of me wanted to feel sick, but a bigger part of me felt victorious.

* * *

**Epic battle-chase scene. I love writing action parts, and I hope you love reading them!**

**Please review, and tell me what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Harley: I'm glad that everyone's enjoying this story. I'll try to keep consistant updating of the already written chapters.**

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

We went back to Emily's house after making sure that the remains were completely ash. We entered the back door with Sam's arm proudly draped around my shoulder, a large grin on his face. Jared and Paul were making fake howls behind us, seeming to be so much more energetic after a hunt. When we got through the door Sam quickly removed his arm from me to go over to Emily, who looked relieved to see us all in one peace.

When the two embraced I looked away, noticing that Paul and Jared had done the same. It seemed so invasive to watch the two interact. They were so into each other, and when they were having one of their moments nothing else in the room mattered. That, and it still made me uncomfortable to watch the loving couple when the love of my life had dumped me just hours before.

I excused myself finally, making my way to the living room so that I could go up the stairs and sleep in my bed. That was all I wanted after such a long day. The adrenaline that had been pumping through me had died away, my heart was throbbing like no other, and all I wanted was a bed. I felt so mentally and physically exhausted that I didn't care about what waited for me in my dreams. I just felt like if I didn't lay down I would collapse underneath the weight of the world on my shoulders.

"Good job today, runt!" Jared said, ruffling my hair as he and Paul passed to leave out the front door.

I paused at the bottom of the stairs. "I thought I was _'pup'_," I said slowly, looking at the two over my shoulder.

Paul smirked a bit. "Nah, you're not a pup if you can take down a vampire like that. But you're still small, so you're just the little pack runt."

The two left laughing, and there was a bit of warmth in my chest that I didn't know whether to accept of not. They didn't say the name rudely, or in a mean way. It almost seemed accepting, like they were accepting me into their pack. Instead of lingering on it, I just continued my long journey up the stairs. I stumbled into my room and just barely got to throw the covers of my bed away before collapsing onto the mattress. I bounced a little, but once my body had gone still and I had completely settled down with my pillows, I drifted away from the world.

* * *

_The world I fell into wasn't a peaceful, dreamless sleep. It was my worst nightmare. All I could see was Edward with his arms wrapped tightly around me, trapping me to his chest. His family was standing in the background, laughing cheerfully and unable to hear me when I called out to them. When I tried to reach for them over Edward's shoulder an invisible wall kept me away from them. I tried so hard, but Edward kept pulling me away._

_I screamed and cried, reaching for them. I was terrified of Edward, of all the pain he has caused me. He was squeezing me much to tightly, smothering me. I needed help, I needed someone to save me. I cried for help, trying to pull away from him. Finally, my screams seemed to breach as Jasper's head poked up. He strolled to the barrier keeping me and Edward separated from the rest of the family. He raised his hand and pressed it against the barrier, right where mine was place._

_Something fluttered through my heart, but it was overtaken by horror as a horde of building sized wolves suddenly surrounded the Cullens. They were a dark chocolate brown with darker ears and chest, just like my own fur. They snapped and clawed, tearing the family to bits. I tried so hard to reach them and save them, but Edward was still holding me back._

_I turned to face him, when-_

* * *

"Bella, Bella, wake up. You're having a nightmare, Bella!"

I swung upright, nearly head-butting Emily. Luckily, she had moved back just in time. I looked around frantically, very confused in my sleepy daze. As the world and the knowledge of my whereabouts came back to me, I slowly calmed down. She was sitting on the edge of my bed, dressed in a pair of sleeping pants and a tank top. Sam stood in the door way, a look on his face something a bit close to concern.

My heart was pounding in my chest, beating like a marching drum. I gasped for a bit of air, ad felt a tear slide down my face. I hurriedly reached up to wipe my face of the wetness there. I hurried to collect myself, embarrassment burning within me at though of waking them up due to my own nightmares.

"I'm sorry," I said softly, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's no problem, I'm just glad you're alright. We woke to you screaming and I was scared that something had happened," Emily said, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright? Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head. I didn't know her well enough, nor was I the one to talk about these kinds of things. I was the suffer in silence type, I knew that much myself. I just wasn't comfortable spreading how I felt all over the place, it made me feel to much like a burden. So after reassuring Emily again that I was fine, while avoiding Sam's ever observant Alpha eyes, they left my room so that I could wallow in my thoughts.

This time, even though I was just as dead tired as I had been before my nightmare, I couldn't sleep. I could see my dream every time I closed my eyes. The images were haunting me and I could do nothing but toss and turn in an attempt to escape them and into a comfortable dreamland. Finally, exhaustion hit me, and I was able to get to sleep.

Something told me that I would have quite a few nights like this.

* * *

I had been right in my assumption of my nightly pattern, but I managed to tone it down. I no longer woke Emily and Sam up to my horrible screaming. Somehow I managed to keep it to small whimpers, but it was enough for me. I still tried to get sleep, however, because every day I had Jared and Paul testing my temper. See, we as wolves had patrols to take around the reservation to make sure it was safe and there was no smell of vampires around.

However, the current patrol only took two wolves. Sam had mentioned many times that more of us would begin to phase, but it was best to start out smaller. When two of them were on patrol, the third was hanging around Sam's house with Emily and I. Usually Emily and I were cleaning, cooking, or working on my homework as the weeks went by. Other times, I was hiding.

Paul had made it his personal job to test my out of control temper, and of course Jared was his little side-kick. When one of them was left from patrol, I was mercilessly irritated. Several times I phased because of their persistent idiocy, but luckily I had managed to make it out of the house so that all damage was avoided. Or, as Paul liked to say to annoy me further, "I hadn't made a mess in the house yet."

After about two weeks, I had Emily cut my hair. When I phased, it was a bit too shaggy to be comfortable. Instead of reaching below my shoulders it now barely reached my collar bone. It was choppy cut in different layers. I liked it. It had the naturally ruffled look to it, and it made me feel a bit pretty, something I hadn't felt since Edward had left. Once she was done cutting it Emily had told me that sometimes a new look helped sometimes, and I thought she was quiet right. Not only was I faster while running in wolf form, but it took a little weight off of my head and the new look allowed some comfortable change.

Sometimes, it was hard to keep up the pretense of normalcy. On the inside I was still hurting, and I found myself thinking of the Cullens more and more with each day. I missed them so much that it made my heart hurt, but it helped to have the two pack idiots around to distract me from my sorrow. If I was angry or irritated, it meant that I was less likely to be moping around about the Cullens. It helped me greatly, no matter how angry it would make me at the time.

When he was off work, Sam would teach me the patrol route. I wouldn't be able to do patrol until I was finished with school or on a break, because it would take a lot out of me to balance school and patrol. Sam said we would have to do patrols during the school year once more people phased, but for now I wouldn't have too unless there was an increase in activity. However, there hadn't been a vampire around since the one I had aided in killing.

The Cullens were a forbidden topic in the house. If anyone tried to mention them, I would enter a quiet state. I would disconnect from the room and the rest of the world, lost in my thoughts. I wouldn't move or eat, just sit and stare at the wall as I wondered where I had went wrong and why I wasn't good enough for them. It took a while for me to be able to realize that I had to grow a backbone and move on, but it didn't stop the hurt. So, instead the mention of them was banished in an attempt to help me forget and move on. Surprisingly, it was helping.

Phasing got easier and easier as the days passed. It took less focus, and more willpower. If I wanted to, it would happen. However, my temper still needed a bit more taming before I could go to high school again. However, I soon realized that I could never completely get rid of the temper. I could tame it, but it would never completely leave. I had found out that by Paul, who I had seen blow up many times over small things. He was the most temperamental one of our pack, which was saying a lot considering I was the newest and least experienced. Luckily, Paul had just recently graduated from school so he didn't have to be worried about being around people all day.

I had mostly avoided society since my change. I would hang around the pack and sometimes take walks along the beach as a human, or run through the forest as a wolf. I did just about anything to keep my mind off my heart so that I could move on. No matter how much the thought hurt, I knew that it was for the best. The Cullens didn't want me, and there was no use torturing myself because I had the ability to do better.

How I felt about the ability to shift into a wolf at will was still undecided. Sometimes, I could see it as a blessing but other times I could see it as a curse. Whenever I wondered where I would've been if I hadn't phased, and I realized that I would've been alone. I would've blocked out the world and let myself begin to rot away. So, for that, I was happy it was there because it gave me Sam, Emily, Jared, and even Paul.

It was close to a month when Sam believed that I was ready to go back to school. He said my temper was ten times better then it had been, and I was calmer. He was quick to warn me of many things I should do and shouldn't do.

One of his rules didn't sit comfortably with me. The rule was: Don't get to close to anyone. No one aside from the Elders, the wolves themselves, and the imprints were allowed to know of the Pack and how we could phase. Which, to me, basically meant having no friends in school. Even though I wasn't interested in a having a relationship anytime soon, even I had been it would've been a huge no. For some reason Sam was very strict about dating. He said I should wait for my imprint, no matter what, because in the end someone could get hurt.

So, in a sum, I had to avoid everyone like the plague and go on with my learning. Even Jacob, who Sam swore would phase someday soon, I had to avoid. He couldn't find out until he phased, Sam said.

That rule made me feel like even more a freak, but I could understand. After a month of having the ability I could understand why Sam needed his rules and such, but it didn't stop my stomach from feeling tense when Sam drove me to school for my first day at La Push High School. My whole body felt tense, and I felt like I was about to throw up.

"You can rip out a vampire's throat with no problem, but when facing a bunch of teenagers you get green," Sam said with a small smirk, shaking his head as I grew more and more tense the closer we got to the school.

"I won't have anyone there," I said, slightly annoyed by Sam's obvious amusement, "And I know that Jacob will try to talk to me."

Sam's face instantly turned into a frown. "You know what you have to do. Just ignore him, because he'll soon understand."

I pursed my lips. "How do you know that he'll phase?"

"He's a pretty direct descendent, it's almost impossible for him not to. And once he does, he will become Alpha," Sam said, seeming a little bit more tense then before.

Shock coursed through me. Sam had never mentioned that before. That seemed to explain a lot. Sam didn't directly have a problem with Jacob, but I think that he felt a bit conned. Sam was the first to phase, and he was the one to help all of us when we phased. It would seem a bit unfair if he did all of this work, and suddenly someone else phased and is declared Alpha on the spot. I felt for the man, I really did, but jealousy wasn't a good color on anyone.

Instead of saying more, I just stayed silent for the rest of the ride.

When we reached the parking lot of the school, I felt sick to my stomach. Everyone in La Push knew Sam's truck, because he was a very well known man. Many people liked him while others did not. However, it was not the safest choice for me to ride with him if my main goal had been to become invisible to the rest of the population, which it had been.

Sam parked near the front to drop me off, and I really didn't want to get out with all the eyes watching the truck. Despite me being part Quileute, I was still snow-pale and looked nothing like the tribe. I was so different, even in ways people couldn't see.

"I'll be here to pick you up, runt," Sam said, having also taken the nickname Jared and Paul had given me, "Emily will be at home all day, so if something ends up wrong you can call her and she will come get you without a second thought."

"Thank you, Sam," I said sincerely.

He ruffled my hair. "Go learn something."

I bid my last good-bye, before stepping out of the truck. I hoisted my backpack over my shoulders, terribly aware that people were now drinking in my appearance. While most of them were in jackets and jeans to shield themselves from the weather, I was dressed in a short-sleeve green t-shirt and a pair of loose boy's shorts that went to above my knees.

Straightening my back, I slowly made my way into the school so that I could get the day over with. I forced myself to not listen to the whispers that people thought I couldn't hear, and kept my head high. I knew that rumors probably flew around Forks after the Cullen family suddenly left and I had suddenly moved to La Push, there was no doubt about it that some of those rumors had crawled into La Push and were now infecting people's brains.

Sam had been right, however. It was a bit ridiculous to be afraid of teenagers after facing off against a vampire. So, I allowed my mind to clear and just continued on my way. I would at least pretend I was gaining knowledge and once I was done with school I would be free to be my wolfy self whenever I wanted.

"Bella? Hey, Bella!"

The exact person Sam and I had been talking about before had spotted me, and was now heading my way with two other teenagers trailing after him.

I took a good look of them, and realized why Sam knew Jacob would phase, and most likely the other two would along with him. Even though I hadn't phased normally, Sam had taught me the signs of a future shifter. At first, they would begin build muscle and grow taller when they began to lean towards phasing. At that time they would also start having a bigger appetite that would continue to grow. Then, their temperature would begin to heat up. Lastly, they would get a bit sick until finally they just popped. It was bit easier and less painful since they got the gradual transformation, while I had just spontaneous exploded into a fluffy wolf.

Jacob had grown a lot since I had saw him last. He was much taller, and he seemed to be adding muscle. One of his friends, however, looked a bit further along then he did. The other friend look almost completely fine, but I could see the beginning of some muscle. It didn't necessarily mean they would phase, but I had my suspicions.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" Jacob asked once he had caught up, his face light.

_'Break off, Bella. You need to be cold. He'll understand in the future. Do it.'_

"I've transferred here. Just a lot of drama," I said, brushing past him to keep walking. I felt like a horrible person for having to do this, but I knew that I had to follow Sam. It wasn't safe for me to be around Jacob until he had phased and understood his own heritage.

"Hey! Wait! Why did you come here with Sam?" Jacob asked, sounding a bit darker at the mention of Sam's name.

"I live with him and his fiancee Emily, they're friends of my dad's," I said, finalizing the conversation and continuing to walk off.

I could hear Jacob's friends asking what my problem was, and I felt guilty. I didn't want to make them think I was a terrible person, but it was necessary. I hoped that they, and Jacob, would give me a second chance once they phased themselves. I felt heartless, but it was for their own safety.

School had truly messed with my internal settings. I was used to the days going by pretty fast paced. Cooking and cleaning with Emily, learning from Sam, worked on sent-home homework, avoided my two personal irritants, and spending some quiet time on my own to clear my thoughts. Then, rinse and repeat.

I had been able to spend my days away from the world and in an almost peaceful state. Sometimes my thoughts would turn bad and I would isolate myself from the pack and Emily, but I was learning to cope. I was still broken, but slowly, one by one, they were helping me pick up the pieces and put myself back together.

Instead, now I had to sit through hours of classes with people whispering and staring. I hadn't been asked to introduce myself like I had in Forks, but all the whispers were getting irritated. People stared at me no matter where I went, and I found the whispers very hard to ignore. Several times I wanted to call Emily to come pick me up just because I didn't want to hear the whispering any longer. I felt horrible after lunch, also, because I had to ignore Jacob who had been waving me over to sit with him and his friends. It dampened my mood for the rest of the day, and by the time I had started to leave the school to find Sam's truck I was exhausted both mentally and physically.

I spotted the truck, but was intercepted.

"Bella, I wouldn't go with him if I were you. There's something off about Sam," Jacob said, his hand on my arm. "If you're having problems with your dad you could come and stay with me and my dad, I'm sure Charlie would feel more comfortable if you were with us instead of Sam."

Swallowing down a sigh that threatened to pop up, I pulled my arm away from Jacob. "Jacob, you don't understand a lot about Sam."

I looked at him, and saw his eyes widen slightly. He backed away. "You're part of it, aren't you? His little gang that he's gathering around? That's the reason why you're here, and not in Forks. That's why you've been ignoring me and acting so weird. It's because of Sam."

"Jacob-" I tried to say, but he had already turned to walk away.

I watched him go, feeling a sickness rising in my throat. I felt guilty, like the most horrible person in the world. Once I reached Sam's truck I stayed silent the entire ride, ignoring his questions about what Jacob had wanted. When we arrived home I was inside and up the stairs before Emily could even ask me how my first day was, and shut the door to my room. I instantly started on homework, burying myself into it so that my mind wouldn't start to torture me again.

I didn't know if I could endure another day like that.

* * *

**Poor Bella, highschool drama is the worst. Especially if you have to ignore one of your friends due to the fact that you're a shapeshifter and he's destined to join your pack.**

**I hope you guys liked this! This was more filler to kind of speed up some time, because I'm not going to write every single day of her life. It'll pick up some more next chapter, I promise.**

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Harley: Hello everybody! Thank you all for the reviews and favorites, it means a lot.**

* * *

Chapter 4

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As time went by, Jacob and his two friends got a little bit bigger. It wasn't long after I came to their school that Embry, Jacob's friend, phased. He was home sick from school for close to a week and a half school, and was visited by Sam daily. Not long after he had gotten sick, Embry joined our little pack. He had been just as freaked out as I had, but without all the "losing my loved ones" drama. Soon he had settled in just as I had, and understood exactly what I had been going through. Not hanging around Jacob and Quil was upsetting him, because the three had been close friends since their childhood. Now, however, he was in the same boat as me and it helped us understand each other a bit more.

The first day Embry was allowed to go back to school, he went with me. He drove me instead of Sam, and when we walked through the school grounds together the look on Jacob and Quil's face were heart breaking. Embry wanted go talk to them, I knew that he did, but he couldn't and I had to remind him of it several times. I knew that it probably made them hate me anymore, because they probably thought that I had stolen Embry from them.

Jacob and Quil didn't try to approach us though. I knew that had hurt Embry a bit more, but I told him they would come around once they had phased. That brightened him up a bit, and the two of us continued on with our schooling.

Life seemed to be getting better as time went on. I began to torture myself less with my thoughts about the Cullens. It was taking a lot of time for me to heal, but being around the pack helped me fill the void a bit. I slowly found myself warming up to them, even Embry as a newcomer. They way all of us were connected was like something no one else could ever imagine feeling. Being in a pack, and having people who knew exactly what you were and shared the same secret. It was freeing, being able to feel comfortable in my own skin despite my furry secret.

Emily's home was like a sacred place. Even though Paul, Jared, and Embry had families and other homes, they seemed to always be around her and Sam's home and I could understand why. Her home was a place of understanding, where they could completely be themselves. No one would judge them, because all of us were in the same boat. Emily may not be a wolf, but she was the imprint of the alpha and she was like a mother to us all.

Everything kept up a pretty normal routine after Embry's shift. Until, one day Jared came into Emily's house with a dazed, longing expression on his face. I watched him, my brows creasing, as he slowly sank onto the couch. He didn't glance at me once, didn't greet me. He seemed to be in this fog, and something about it seemed a bit familiar. It reminded me a bit of Sam after being around Emily for a while.

I blinked in shock as I realized what was going on. "You imprinted!" I accused, leaning forward in my chair.

Jared's unfocused eyes slowly found mine, and he seemed to jolt with some kind of revelation. He scrambled to the edge of the couch, closer to me.

"You know her," He said quickly, "She's in your grade!"

"Do you know her name?" I asked.

I was happy for Jared, I really was. After a while of seeing how loving and sacred Sam and Emily's relationship was, the more I wished I could have it. I knew that Jared and Embry seemed the most alright with the thought of imprinting, while Paul had just went on his daily life dating different girls and whatnot. My take on it was brightening a bit. Maybe it would be able to save me from the little hole the Cullens had left me in, and I was slightly jealous that Jared had beaten me to finding a soul mate. But, like I had said once before, jealousy doesn't look good on anyone.

Jared told me her name, and I was able to identify her quickly. Kim was the shyest girl in the whole high school, and I couldn't help but find it adorable that the big, strong Jared imprinted on shy Kim. I filled him in on the little things I knew about her from school, which he drank in so easily I was surprised he didn't choke on his own eagerness.

When the rest of the pack and Emily came back around the house, there was a bit of a celebration for our pack brother. Sam had clapped him on the shoulder proudly. Embry was looking at Jared's happy, lost face critically. He seemed more open about imprinting then Paul, but he still didn't quite feel excited for it.

Emily cooked something a bit more special for the night, but it was even bigger than our old meals. Embry's phasing had given him a stomach of steel, just like the rest of us. I felt bad for Emily, because she'd have to cook more and more for each time a member phased. It didn't seem to bother her, however. She seemed a bit proud to be taking care of us like a mother.

During the middle of our meal, Jared suddenly had a thought. He dropped his fork on his plate and was suddenly in my face once more. "Bella! You can introduce her to me!"

I blinked, having difficulty swallowing a mouthful of food. I quickly swallowed and wiped my mouth clean before I could answer the frantic man. "If you didn't notice, I'm kind of an outcast due to my casual wolf-shifting."

"Please, Bella!" Jared said, pulling out a pair of puppy eyes that he probably would've never been able to pull off if he hadn't been a shifter, "Just talk to her, be her friend, and introduce us. Please!"

Never in my life had I hear Jared say please so much, or want something from someone so badly. The whole table was watching us now, more importantly me. It would be wrong of me to not help my pack brother when I was capable of it, so I nodded. Jared was across the table in a second, lifting me into a strong hug.

I didn't feel crushed like I would've if I was human, and I quickly returned the strong hug with just as much pressure. It wasn't every day one of those big lugs showed affection, so I just went with the flow. The hug was a bit shocking to me, because I hadn't had so much physical contact with someone in a long time.

Paul was muttering something about Jared being a pansy, resulting in a smack on the shoulder by Sam.

After dinner I quickly made my way to my room, thinking about how I was going to approach Kim. The whole school knew I was part of Sam's gang at that time, and all of them avoided me like the plague. The girl was so shy that I was afraid if I approached her with the reputation I had, she'd have a heart attack. However, I did see her everyday. She had a few classes with me, and I knew for a fact that she spent lunch period in the library because she didn't have many friends.

I figured out my tactic as I went to sleep, and the next day during lunch I went to library instead of finding a quiet place for myself.

Stepping into the library, I couldn't help but smile a bit. I missed reading, but I had sparse time to do so anymore. I was either at school, doing homework, helping Emily, or running through the woods for some head-clearing time. I could smell their crisp pages and leather binds, the smell calling out to me. I long to flip through a book and absorb all the ink from its pages, but it wasn't what I was there for.

I scanned the shelves and corners, until I found my target. She was curled up in a chair, biting her lip as she flipped through a book.

Feeling completely out of my element, I slowly made my way over to her. I took a chair along the way, setting it next to hers. That seemed to snap her out of her daze, but she didn't meet my eyes. She seemed a bit nervous and scared, which was an understanding. I was a bit taller than most girls because of my phasing, and I also had a little bit of muscle. Not a lot to look like some buff man-chick, but enough to give me a bit of a figure.

"Hello," I said slowly, and quietly as to not startle her any further.

She finally met my eyes, and I could practically see her quivering in fear. "Hello..."

"I'm Bella," I said with what I hoped was a welcoming smile, reaching my hand forward.

Kim hesitantly shook it. "Yes, I know... Oh! I-I mean, oh, that was rude... I-I'm Kim," she said nervously, her face flushing with embarrassment.

I chuckled a bit, leaning back in my chair. "Nice to meet you. Sorry to disturb you or be rude, but why do you sit in here during lunch?"

Her eyes dropped to the floor. "I'm hiding," She finally whispered finally, seeming reluctant to say it.

My eye brows creased a bit, and I pursed my lips. "You're hiding?"

"From these girls," She explained, "They haven't left me alone in a while, so I hide here during lunch."

Oooh, Jared wouldn't like that one bit. In fact, neither did I. No one deserved to skip a meal just because of a few mean, idiotic kids, and that wasn't just my wolf-stomach talking.

I pulled my bag onto my lap, shifting through it until my fingers caught onto my secret weapon. Emily's cooking. I took the sandwich into my hand and pulled it out of my bag, holding it out to the shy girl. "Here."

Her eyes widened. "Oh! I-I couldn't, besides, we're not allowed to eat in the library."

"The librarian's not here, and I have plenty. Trust me," I said a bit guilty, glancing at the other three sandwiches in my bag. It was a bit embarrassing to eat so much in public, but since people left me alone I was a bit more comfortable to do so. I was a bit funny to see the faces of girls when I devoured my large lunches everyday, and stayed skinny.

She slowly took the sandwich. She began to unwrap it from the saran wrap Emily had deathtrapped it in, so that it would stay fresh. She muttered a small thank you, biting into the sandwich. Her eyes lit up at the taste, and I completely understood the feeling. Emily was such a good cook, I believed that she could make anything taste amazing.

We ate slowly, and I reluctantly offered her a second sandwich that she refused, saying that she was full. Her eyes were wide, however, when she watched me almost inhale that sandwich and then a third. We had a bit of conversation in between, and I found that she was a likable person. She was a lot better than what Jessica had been. She reminded me a bit of Angela in someways, once you got past her shy shell.

We parted ways when lunch was over. I went through the rest of the day, feeling a bit accomplished. When it was time to go home, I was getting my things around while waiting for Embry. He was my ride so he stopped by my locker every day and we left, since my locked was closer to the parking lot then his.

I was standing there, when a sudden noise made me jump. I looked off to the side and saw Kim standing with several other girls around her. My eyes narrowed, and I ignores Embry when he came up to me. His greeted died as he followed my eyes. The girls were taunting her from what I had seen, and I watched as Kim curled into herself, not defending herself and trying to block it out.

Embry understood what was going on, and he lurched forward. He yelled at the girls, much to my amusement, and helped Kim pick her things off the floor that they had made her drop. I quickly joined him, and Kim's eyes met mine.

"Don't worry, they won't mess with you anymore. I think Embry scared them," I said, amusement in my voice.

Embry chuckled. "They ran fast enough."

"Hey, Kim, do you want to come to my house?" I asked suddenly, a plan forming inside my head.

She looked at me, her eyes disbelief. "What for?"

"To hang out and stuff, duh," Embry said, smiling lopsidedly.

I smacked his arm. "Be nice. But, really, we could do our homework or something," I added lamely, realizing just how not fun that sounded.

However, she seemed to like the idea, because she nodded. "Yeah, that'd be okay."

She followed Embry and I to his truck. I kept my eyes forward, but I could feel the eyes of Quil and Jacob as they watched us leave with Kim close behind. I could almost hear them speaking about how another was joining the cult, and I rolled my eyes. They'd understand soon.

I just didn't know how soon.

* * *

My plan had worked. Kim and I had been doing our homework in the living room, when Jared and Paul suddenly entered. Jared completely froze over, his eyes wide as they landed on Kim. Kim looked startled to see two large men enter the room. Paul and I looked between the two slowly, before sneaking away into the kitchen.

Not long after we had left, I could hear the two love-birds talking. I offered my hand up for a high-five, which Paul had reluctantly gave with a roll of his eyes. Sam entered the back door from patrol, looking confused as to why the two of us were in the kitchen and _not_ stuffing our faces, when he caught the conversation in the living room. A smile spread on his face, and he motioned for us to go outside and give them some privacy.

After that day, Kim and Jared began to hang out. They grew closer and closer, until Jared asked her to be his girlfriend. When she said yes, he told her of the secret. The pack, his phasing, and imprinting. From the bits of memories I could see in Jared's head when he phased, she had taken it fairly well. Paul and I had betted that she would've fainted when she found out, but sadly he and I both owed Sam twenty bucks.

She opened up more to me and the rest of the pack when she knew what we were and that we weren't some scary drug-dealing cult. She told me that she thought of us as protectors, which was really what we were. It was nice to have another girl around to be friends with, even if she did spend a lot of time with Jared. However, they made each other happy and that was all that mattered.

It was a weekend a couple weeks after that when Sam came, looking a bit angry with himself. His eyes scanned the room, seeing all of us sitting around. Jared and Paul were playing their videogames, while Kim was curled next to Jared's side with a book in her hands. Emily and I were sitting on the floor, and we were attempted a large puzzle that had no point. Ironically enough, our puzzle was a picture of a wolf.

"Sam?" Emily asked, seeing the tense look on his face.

"Jacob Black has gotten sick. He's going to join us soon," Sam said, his eyes darkening a bit.

Embry and I perked up, and looked at each other happily. I felt bad for Sam, I truly did, but I was so happy that soon Jacob would be able to understand what was going on. I wouldn't have to hide everything from him anymore, not that I would've been able to with the connection our wolf minds would be able to share.

All we had to do was wait.

And wait we did. It wasn't until the next weekend that Jacob would phase, and sadly, I was the only one phased during that time. It was Friday, right after school. I felt like taking a run through the woods, so I phased and was wandering through the trees. It was so relaxing to be able to walk through it and not be afraid of going too far. I always knew what direction Emily's house was. I just had to follow the smell of home.

I took in a deep breath, and the air was so crisp and fresh that it was overwhelming. It had just rained hours before, so everything was damp and still smelled of rain. When it was damp, the forest looked a bit more beautiful to me. The leaves looked crystallized with the droplets of water sliding from their tips, and the damp earth smelled wonderful to my strong wolf nose.

Stepping onto a fallen log, I began to contemplate turning around and going home for the night when there was a sudden, unfamiliar pressure inside my head. I blinked once, reaching out with my thoughts. There was a sudden blast of panicked thoughts, and my eyes widened as I registered who had just linked minds with me.

_"Jacob? Jacob! You need to calm down!" _I said, trying to console him as he freaked out over his new body.

I threw my head back in a loud howl, knowing the pack could hear me from Sam's house. There was a pause, before a more human howl answered my own. Once it was confirmed that the rest of the pack was on their way, I began to run to where Jacob was. I could see flashes in his head, and I could see flashes of his home. He was in the woods right next to his house, and he was as confused as hell.

_"Who are you?!"_ He shouted back at me, his mental voice sounding a bit hoarse.

_"Jacob, it's me, Bella,"_ I said back, jumping over fallen tree trunk as I rushed to get to him.

His thoughts were disbelieving, when Sam suddenly joined us. I reviewed my thoughts for him, allowing him to catch up. He began to speak to Jacob, trying to console him just as I had. However, now that Jacob could hear Sam in his head, someone who he's hated for such a long time, he began to go into more of a rage.

I kept running, when a sudden sweat smell hit my nose. It hit me like a wall, and I realized that I had been subtly smelling it ever since I had started running for Jacob. There was a vampire, I realized, my eyes widening in realization.

_"Vampire? What the-"_

Sam cut off Jacob's thoughts, and shouted, _"Bella, Embry and Paul are coming your way to help. They just phased. You three take it out while Jared and I try to help Jacob."_

_"Got it!"_ I said back, and broke away from my path.

I could feel the rest of the pack in my head, and I felt bad for Jacob. Everything was happening so fast, there was no doubt that he was confused at that point. Vampires and giant wolves, goodness. The smell, however, that he could smell faintly from my mind made him recoil in disgust. For some reason, I was the only wolf who thought that they smelled good.

As I ran, the vampire found me before I found it.

There was a sudden movement to my right, and I looked only second before something ghostly-pale slammed into my side. I yelped loudly as I heard a rib crack, and I scrambled against the ground to get back on my feet. Embry and Paul were only seconds away, but seconds were all it took for a vampire to kill something.

It was a man, his eyes completely black and his teeth glistening with venom. His curly black hair was in a complete disarray, and his clothes were soaked in blood, thankfully none of it fresh. I growled at him, my lips lifting in a threatening snarl. He hissed back, slowly taking a stance. This would only be the second vampire I had ever fought, and Embry's first. I wanted him to learn and help Paul and I take this one down, but to do that I would have to stall.

I lunged forward, and the vampire swiftly glided out of the way, hissing and spitting. I jumped to my side as he lunged back, swinging his hands like razor-claws. I felt his fingernails cut through my neck, creating large slash wounds across it and my shoulder. Thankfully, it hadn't gotten too deep, but that didn't stop it from hurting like no-other.

Slowly, I backed up, watching the vampire's face flash with confusion. He twitched, however, when he heard my pack mates too late. Paul jumped over a piece of raised land, catching the vampire's torso in his jaws. Embry was seconds after, his breath coming out in excited puffs. Paul unleashed the vampire, and we both encouraged Embry to step in. He did so quite quickly, catching the vampire while it was still disoriented.

Soon, it was torn to pieces. I phased back quickly behind a tree, pulling on the shorts and t-shirt that had been strapped to my ankle. I pulled a lighter out of the pocket of the shorts, and ran to the vampires remains. I tilted the lighter into the flames, and the quickly caught just like the other vampire had.

I stood there, watching the flames with my pack mates with a proud feeling in my chest. Slowly, the others joined us to watch the fire.

There was a whine off to the side, and a cold nose touched my warm arm. I looked quickly, seeing a wolf-sized, russet wolf standing next to me. Realizing who it was, I smiled softly. I reached my arm upward, gently petting Jacob's head and ears. A pleasant grumble came from his chest, making me laugh, but he whined once more and pushed his nose against my shoulder.

Pain jolted through me, and I looked down to see blood slowly seeping from four cuts across my lower neck and shoulder. They weren't too deep, but they were slowly soaking my shirt with blood. I looked at the blood, feeling sick to my stomach as it's smell invaded my senses. The coppery tang filled my nose and made me want to throw up. I all but panicked when I saw myself covered in my own crimson blood, slowly more and more gathering in the fabric of my top and sliding down my arms.

"I'm alright," I said, but I didn't know whether I was assuring Jacob or myself.

I shivered, closing my eyes to try and block out the blood. I felt Jacob nudge me with his shoulder, I opened my eyes to see him slowly get lower to the ground.

"I'll get you all bloody," I protested, and he growled at me.

I growled back, and he blinked once in what seemed like shock. I laughed a bit, but slowly succumbed to his wishes and climbed onto his back. I held onto him tightly as Sam began to lead the pack back to Emily's house. I could almost feel Jacob's uneasiness rolling through him, but I was happy to see that he had calmed down and was listening to Sam. Soon, Sam would be the one listening to him, and Sam knew that too. I could see he was uncomfortable, even in his wolf form.

I could feel the blood leaking through the stinging wounds on my shoulders, and my eyes suddenly drooped. My shoulder was aching and bleeding, and I was slowly getting tired. A bolt of panic went through me as I began to slip away from the world. I slowly went slack against Jacob, until my eyes grew so heavy that I could keep them open no longer. Everything went black, and I drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Whoo! Jacob's here! I know you guys are waiting for the Cullens to come in, but I don't want to rush this. I want this story to have good plot developement, I just can't stand those fanfics were Bella's personality suddenly flicks like a light switch and suddenly the Cullens are back and blah blah blah. They will be here soon, though.**

**I hope you guys liked this!**

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Harley: Here's another chapter for everybody! After a bit the chapters may be a bit more spaced because there is a few things I want to edit and put into the chapters, and that might take a bit.**

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Chapter 5

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"How could you let her fight?!"

"She is part of this pack."

"But she's a lot smaller than the rest of us! It's dangerous for her!"

"It's her choice to make, not yours, Jacob, and she did good out there. It's not like she was dying."

Light was shining through my closed eyelids, pulling me out of the deep slumber I had been in. The voices yelling in the next room had finished pulling me out of my slumber, washing away most of the sleep from my brain. My shoulder and neck were aching, and for a moment I forgot that I had been injured. I groaned lightly, and all conversation stopped around me.

I blinked before rubbing at my eyes with the back of my hand, using that arm connected to my uninjured shoulder. Once I could see properly, I slowly felt around me, feeling the material of the living room couch beneath me. I began to push myself upright, the world spinning around me. I felt a pair of warm arms wrap around me, one hand gentle touching my wounded shoulder while the other held the hand opposite of my wound, gently helping me sit up right.

The world stopped swaying once I was up for a while, and I saw that it was Jacob who was holding me. I felt a bit uncomfortable with such intimate contact, and I was quick to move away from his touch and stand up. I swayed a little, and Jacob about had to catch me before I quickly righted myself.

I looked around and saw the faces of my pack. I looked from them and down to my shoulder, and I was awed to see that the deep scratches were already healed over, a set of light, pale scars. I couldn't have been asleep long enough for them to heal so well, and I looked to Sam for an explanation.

"We heal a lot faster then normal humans," Sam explained, seeing my questioning look.

"Right," I said slowly, looking around the room slowly.

Everything was a bit tense. Sam nor Jacob seemed like they wanted to be in the same room as each other, and their tense emotions left the rest of the pack tongue tied. I saw Emily standing in the door way to the kitchen, her lips pursed as she, too, sensed the tension. I slowly made my way over to her, and she followed me back into the kitchen. When I left a small conversation started in the living room, and I was careful to follow it as I spoke with Emily.

"What happened while I was out?" I whispered to her, low enough that the pack wouldn't be able to catch it.

"Jacob and Sam started fighting," She whispered back, picking up a wash cloth to start washing a pile of dishes in the sink.

I picked up a towel, and began to dry the dishes she washed. "About what?"

"At first it was about the Alpha position. Sam tried to give rights to Jacob but Jacob refused, he doesn't want to be Alpha. Sam argued, saying it was his rightful place. They argued about that for some time before Sam gave in, but then Jacob started to yell at him about you," She said, handing me a clean pot.

"Me?" I whispered, my eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

"Jacob seems to think it's unsafe for you to be with the pack. He's got it in his head that its some big burden, and that you shouldn't have to go through that. He also thinks its much too dangerous for you to go out and fight vampires, but I think that's just because the first time he's watched you fight and you got injured," Emily informed me.

A shudder of anger rolled through me, and I clutched the handle of the pot so hard that it dented with my hand print. I let it go quickly, mumbling a soft apology before dropping my towel on the counter and heading for the back door. I opened it quickly before running into the woods. I quickly peeled off my clothes before phasing, taking off in a quick sprint.

My happiness for Jacob was withered. He thought we were unsafe, and that I wasn't capable of protecting myself. The thought made my teeth grind together. He had no right to decide what was too dangerous for me, and I was smugly happy that he hadn't accepted the position of Alpha. If he had, he would've had the full right to kick me out of the pack. Sam would never go against my wishes like that, because he knew that as I grew used to my heritage the more I had loved being a shape shifter and being part of the pack. I never wanted to go back to the place where I had been, the defenseless human girl who would bend over backwards for a boy who didn't actually care for her.

Things were different now, and Jacob was going to have to understand that. I wouldn't let anyone else take away my happiness again, and being a wolf made me happy. It helped me become stronger and get over my losses. It connected me with people that I never would've gotten close to before, and I would've missed out on the feeling of having a complete family again. No one, not Jacob, or anyone else, would take that away from me.

I would make sure of it.

* * *

The next few days were tense. Jacob wasn't allowed to go to school yet, because he was still very temperamental. He seemed to be in a further bad mood because I wouldn't agree with him. He had confronted me after my walk and had tried to talk to me about being a wolf, and tried to persuade me to stop phasing. I had bit back at him quite angrily, and he avoided me for a while.

However, one day after I had gotten home from school I had been sitting in the backyard with my homework in my lap. It was one of the few sunny days that La Push got to see, and I was drinking it in eagerly. I noticed, however, Jacob come out of the woods from the corner of my eyes. I ignored him, thinking he would still be ignoring me and just walk past me and into the house. Instead, however, he sat down next to me onto the lawn.

I placed my pencil into my textbook, and pushed it onto the ground next to me. I looked at the boy sitting next to me, only to see that he was staring at the ground. His eyebrows were drawn and he seemed to be in deep thought. I gave him a moment to think about he wanted to say, before he actually looked up into my eyes.

"I'm sorry, alright?"

I pursed my lips, allowing him to continue without interruption.

"I got a little weird at first. I just couldn't believe what was happening, and that you had to share this fate with me. But I can see how happy it's made you. I can see how you used to be through the rest of the pack's head... And you look a lot happier," He said, skirting around the topic of the Cullens and my depression nervously.

"Besides," He said with a small grin, "This way, we can still be friends and we both understand what the other is going through."

I smiled, and leaned forward to give Jacob a hug. He returned it immediately, and a bit too intimately. I pulled back quicker than he did, feeling a bit more uncomfortable but still happy that the two of us were friends. I knew that he had a crush on me, I could sense it. But, I still wasn't ready for a relationship and nor did I want one. Jacob wasn't my imprint nor was I his, and I wasn't going to take the chance of either of us getting hurt. Besides, when he joined the pack he basically became my brother in my mind.

The two of us sat on the back lawn just talking, until the rain came to wash away the glimmering sun and warmth. We took refuge in the kitchen just in time for some of Emily's cooking, and this time it was only Sam, Emily, Jacob, Paul, and I eating together. Embry still spent a lot of time at his home, while Jared spent a lot of his time with Kim.

Sam and Jacob seemed to come to understand each other better. Once Sam was appointed true Alpha due to Jacob's refusal, things seemed to cool down between the two. Sam assumed position of leader and Jacob took Sam's advice and help to begin humanizing himself again.

A few weeks after Jacob phased Quil also joined us, and it was nice to see the three friends reunited again. The three were quite amusing to see, and they were very funny to hang around. One of their favorite pass time was to tick off Paul, and they made them all the more hilarious. Sometimes it would cause fights that an annoyed Sam would have to break up, but it was always fun while it lasted.

Life slowly went on. Jacob and Quil began to join Embry, Kim, and I at school once more. The five of us stuck together like glue. No more bullies dared to harass Kim now that she had me and three large guys hanging around her. That didn't stop a few rumors from floating around, but they quickly sunk and drowned once people saw that the five of us had no reaction to them.

One day, I had just gotten dropped off by Jacob when I saw a familiar police cruiser in the drive of Sam's house. I smiled, and quickly ran into the home. I threw my bags onto the couch and walked straight into the kitchen. At the table sat my father, who was nursing a steaming cup of coffee while having a conversation with Emily.

They looked up at my entrance, and my dad lit up when he saw me. I hadn't seen him since I had first phased, and for a while I had thought that he was trying to forget me. I let him go, however, knowing that he might've thought of me as a burden after all the drama I had caused. But seeing him there made me happy, knowing that he hadn't given up on me.

He quickly stood up and I crossed the room to give him a gentle hug, mentally reminding myself that I couldn't hug him as tight as I could my pack mates.

"Dad, it's been forever since I've got to see you," I said, pulling away.

He scanned me quickly, as though looking for anything wrong. When his eyes zeroed in on the scars on my shoulder and neck, I was quick to start explaining. He brushed it off, however, looking perplexed, "It's your life now. As long as you're staying safe and doing what you think it right, then I'm okay."

I completely let go of my anger against him, feeling too relieved to see him to continue holding my grudge.

He stayed for the rest of the day, and the two of us talked about the things that had happened since I had left his care. One by one, the pack came to the home and got to introduce themselves to Charlie. It didn't even phase him that Jacob was part of the group, so I assumed that Billy had already told Charlie about him phasing.

Charlie seemed uneasy about me being around so many big, buff guys but registered how comfortable I was around them and didn't say anything.

When it began to get darker outside, Charlie stood from his chair with a languid stretch. "Well, I better go home."

"No, wait," I said hurriedly, desperate to spend a few more moments with my father, "You can stay for supper."

"Right?" I asked for confirmation, looking at Emily.

She looked up at me from the pots she had on the stove and nodded with a happy smile. "Of course, the more the merrier and we always have plenty."

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. "I don't know, Bells. I have work in the morning and..."

I cut him off, "And the police chief of Forks needs a better meal than pizza every single night."

He looked even more embarrassed then, and I instantly knew that I had caught him red-handed. He reluctantly agreed, and he got to see first-hand how terrifying the appetite of a wolf could be. When the food was done Emily and I began gathering ours plates first, and I motioned for Charlie to do the same.

He eyed the mountains of food. "Shouldn't we call the others in?"

"We will, but we plate first, you'll see why," I said, filling up my plate.

Charlie seemed to be shocked at the amount I took, but understanding seemed to always find its way. When we finished plating, Emily called the guys in an it was like an all out stampede. Charlie watched with a shocked face as the food on the tables shrunk before his eyes, the guys piling up their plates as though there were stocking up for a nuclear war.

"That," I said, "Is why we get to plate first."

Charlie nodded dumbly, looking as though he expected someone to try and jump him for his plate at anytime. I laughed a bit, and all of us settled at the table. A couple chairs had to be pulled up for the extra people at the table, but we ended up fitting pretty comfortably. Getting to eat dinner with Charlie was nice, something I hadn't cherished before in my life. I realized then just how important the little things in life were.

When the meal was over, I felt a certain sadness. I watched as Charlie, with a full stomach, walked over to Sam and Emily. Sam met his eyes evenly, and Emily gave him a small smile.

"Thank you, for the food. But I also want to thank you for taking care of Bella. She seems... happy here," Charlie said awkwardly, looking a bit embarrassed.

I flushed slightly, but knew that I was also grateful to Sam and Emily for taking such good care of me and keeping me on track. I owed them a lot, whether they knew that or not.

I walked Charlie back to his truck, taking in a deep lung full of the night air. It was chilled and stuck against my full insides. It was refreshing, however, since having all those bodies inside the house made the air a bit humid. I welcomed the coolness against the skin of my arms and legs, feeling them stretch pleasantly after being still for such a long, filling meal.

When we got to the car door we hugged once again. Charlie stood their awkwardly for a second, and I decided to be the one to end it. "So, I'll see you soon, Dad?"

Charlie nodded. "Yeah."

"Good night, Dad," I said, turning to go back to the house.

I heard him mumble a quick good night before getting into the cruiser. I heard the engine roar to life, and the headlights illuminated the whole front of Sam and Emily's house. I offered my father a small wave as pulled out, hearing him honk the horn in return. I smiled happily at the outcome of the day, and joined the rest of my pack for a little post-supper marinating in front of the mind-rotting television.

We all settled into a good routine after my father's visit and it felt like no other wolves were going to join us for a while. One day, while our school was on a week long break, Sam decided to introduce cliff diving to the rest of us. Paul, Sam, and Jared had done it for the longest time, but I was too wimpy to go with them when it had been just the four of us. Now, however, with the whole Pack going plus Emily and Kim I was determined to show up my pack brothers and jump the cliffs with them.

Emily had been kind enough to lend me a nice one-piece black bathing suit to wear for the day, which luckily fit me.

Sam drove us to the beach with he, Emily, and Kim squeezed into the cab with the rest of the pack squeezed into the back of the truck. My brothers were howling and laughing, pretending to push one another out of the truck. The happy atmosphere rubbed off on me, and I found myself laughing along with them easily.

Sam parked his truck right outside the edge of the beach, and everyone began filing onto the beach. I held a large cooler in my hands, stuffed to brim with ice and drinks for everyone. Quil and Embry were carrying large coolers filled with hamburgers and hot dogs that Emily and Kim would be cooking over a fire that Sam had just began lighting.

Once all the stuff was settled down, the rest of the pack and I began making our way up the cliff. I could feel my body shaking with excitement, and I was ready to do this. Jared and Paul had always teased me about not cliff diving with them, and now that I had the courage to do so they wouldn't be able to make fun of me any longer.

"Are you going to jump this time, runt?" Paul taunted, ruffling my hair was we began to reach the top of the cliffs.

I shook my head roughly, knocking off his hand and shaking my short hair back into place. "I'm definitely jumping."

"Ooohh, Bella's first jump. I'm so proud," Jared cooed, wiping away a fake tear from the corner of his eye.

I rolled my eyes and he and Paul snickered. I pushed past them to the front of the group with Sam. He smiled down at me briefly as we made it to the jumping point of the cliff. I looked at the edge, feeling my stomach curl. I toddled forward carefully, peering over the edge. I could see the water crashing against the rocks below like an angry monster. I smiled, feeling ready to tame the beast below.

A hand suddenly clapped my back, and I wobbled with a sharp gasp. Another pair of hands grasped my shoulders and shook me harshly while helping me keep my balance, while a voice right next to my ear shouted: "Are you scared yet, Bella?!"

I slapped Quil and Embry away, and they backed off while laughing hysterically at their little stunt. I glared at their retreating figures, before looking back at the water. The back of my throat felt heavy, and my stomach was curling tighter with each passing second. I took a deep breath, ready to finally make the jump.

For a moment, I remembered something that Edward had told me before he had left.

_"I would like to ask one favor, though, if that's not too much."_

_"Anything."_

_"Don't do anything reckless or stupid."_

I didn't owe him a damn thing, much less a promise. It was time for a change from chasing ghosts and longing for a love that never existed. Edward didn't deserve having me wait for him like this, and I didn't deserve it either. I needed to move on, and I needed to let them go. They didn't want me, and no matter how much that hurt I deserved more than lies and tricks. I wouldn't let myself cry over them anymore. It was time to let go, no matter how much I missed them and wished that I was good enough to have them.

Walking back a bit, I turned to face the cliff. I heard Edward's voice once more in my head, and bid it a curt good bye, before running for the cliff. I passed my brothers in a flash, and I could hear my packs mates howling and cheering as they saw me go for it. My feet slapped against the wet grass as I sprinted for the edge, until they hit the rocky edge of the cliff. I was running so fast that I had given myself no time for second thoughts, not that any had crossed my mind.

For a split second I felt my toes curl against the edge, before pushing off the cliff.

The rush of the jump lifted my spirits, and I could myself leaving my problems behind as I began to free fall through the air. I felt completely weightless, even as gravity pulled me back towards Earth at a break-neck pace. I couldn't take my eyes off the rushing water as it grew closer and closer to me. It was addicting to see, watching as the liquid depths grew closer and closer with every single second. It helped the adrenaline pumping through me, causing it to rush and clog my system. I felt a certain bliss fill every inch of me as I fell, truly understanding what freedom felt like after that moment.

I woke up from my high when I felt the sting of the water's surface smack against my skin, only to have the sting nursed by the soothing chill of the water. It touched my warm skin in a welcome way, soothing not only the slap from hitting the water but the natural warmth of my shape shifter skin. I marinated in it for a few seconds, before swimming for the surface.

When I broke through the surface I could hear the pack still cheering, and I blinked up at them through watery eyes. For a moment I couldn't believe that I had survived a fall from such a height, and then the next moment I wanted nothing more than to do it again and again and again.

I started laughing, a free feeling lighting up my chest. It felt as though a huge weight had been hoisted off my shoulders. I felt free to be me, and free to enjoy my life. I continued to laugh as Jacob and Paul hit the water close to me, both cheering until they hit the water. I began to swim towards the surface as the others began to jump.

Emily gave me a thumbs up as I trudged through the water and onto the shore, feeling a bit heavy from the weight of the water. I smiled at her, before smacking Paul in the arm and beginning a race to the top. He growled playfully and followed after me full speed, Jacob joining in only seconds later.

We all tired ourselves out after jumping off the cliffs and swimming for hours. When the food was done, everyone was ready and feeling starved. We ate and then went to tire ourselves some more. I felt so much lighter after my first jump, and it was a lot easier for me to laugh and play with my fellow wolves.

Our day slowed once the sky fell, and all of us sat around the fire feeling too full or tired to be the first one to go home. Emily and Kim were both dressed to keep out the coldness of the wet night, but had Sam and Jared to keep them warm. The rest of us were unfazed by the coldness of the night, our natural body heat keeping us perfectly comfortable. The glow of the fire helped, also, adding a little more warmth to our weakened bodies.

For the longest time it was silent, after the chatter died and everyone grew more tired. It was Sam, supporting a sleeping Emily in his arms, who suggested we pack up and leave. We did so quite slowly, sluggish after the long day. We all climbed into the back of the truck like it was a major effort and half of us fell asleep on the ride back.

I was sitting inside the back, leaning against the wall behind me and looking up at the sky. My legs were twined with Quil's, who sat on the other side of me and had fallen asleep just seconds ago. I was looking up at the stars until my vision began to fade, and my head swayed sleepily. I was fighting off sleep, wanting to wait until I got to my much more comfortable bed before crashing.

I didn't make it, however, and I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

* * *

**A little filler, but more developement. Bella had let go, and she's ready to enjoy her life with her pack. Yay!**

**I hope you guys like this chapter.**

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Harley: Here's another chapter, guys! Sorry for the wait, I had a friend over on the weekend and was feeling pretty sick yesterday.**

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Chapter 6

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Alice Cullen knew many things that others did not.

Alice Cullen could see many things that others could not.

Alice could see that her family was falling apart, and she also knew the reason why. Maybe they could see it, too, but if they did they didn't choose to do anything about it. Alice Cullen knew that much. She could see their personalities decay in a way that their bodies should have many, many years ago. And on the inside she could feel herself falling apart in the same exact way, and that was when she knew that other could see a bit of something she couldn't. She watched them fall, and they watched her.

They tried to help each other, they truly did. It wasn't as though they were completely destroyed, but guilt and hurt have a way of eating at anyone, even vampires. The guilt of knowing their own wrong doing, and the hurt of losing someone close to them. With the whole family hurting at one time, it truly made their family of the undead seem dead.

Alice knew easily how to fix their problem, but she didn't know if they would agree with it. Due to Edward's request and such, and he would most definitely be the most difficult to persuade. She had something that she had been mulling over for a while now, as leverage. It should help her case but she didn't know if it would completely get her family moving again.

They needed to go back to Forks; to Bella. That was their problem. She was the missing piece to their family and they had hurt her badly. How badly, she did not know and that scared her. They left her and they hadn't even said good bye, they allowed Edward to do the talking while they quickly left town. Why? Because Edward had always been good at persuasion.

Everyone in their family, even Rosalie, cared for Bella to some degree. And when her birthday party had rolled by and she had been put into danger because of them, it wasn't hard for Edward to point out how they were putting her in more danger by keeping her around. If only Alice had been able to see Jasper accidently losing control or Bella getting a paper cut, because then all of this pain could've been avoiding completely. Of course she felt like she was to blame to some extent.

Alice had lost her sister and best friend because of all this drama. So had Emmett. Esme had taken it almost as hard as Edward, for she was going through a few flashes of losing her child in her human life. Carlisle had taken some time off work so that he could be around the house incase Esme started feeling upset again. Rosalie tried to pretend that she didn't care, but everyone could tell that she was angry at Edward.

Why? Because ever since they had left Forks, Edward had done nothing but sit and stare at the wall to his room, rotting away and not feeding. Normally Rosalie would be relieved to leave Bella because it would mean that Bella could keep her humanity, something Rosalie had always wanted Bella to choose. However, when Edward was moping around like it wasn't he who had left Bella, Rosalie snapped. She yelled at him on more than one occasion, telling him that he had no right to act the way he was when he was the one who had probably broken Bella's heart.

Rosalie was good at rubbing salt into his wounds, and even though usually Carlisle, Esme, or Emmett was around Alice knew that deep down the Cullens all knew Rosalie was right. Edward didn't have the right to act such a way. Alice believed it to be very childish, and she was still very angry at him for deciding to leave in the first place.

But, out of all the Cullens, Alice noticed that Jasper seemed to have changed the most. He had to feed off of their negative emotions constantly, and he went out on many lone hunting trip just to get away. Alice could see the guilt he felt, because he felt like it was all his fault. Alice tried to tell him different but he wouldn't listen, even to her. However, it didn't seem to just be the guilt. She could read Jasper easily after spending so many years together, and he looked as though his world was a bit off balanced. It saddened her that she couldn't fix it herself.

Alice looked out the window to her room, seeing her skin reflect the sunrays around the room. Normally seeing herself sparkle in the sun light would've caused a giggle to escape her, but today she was on a mission.

Slowly, much too slowly for a vampire, she uncurled herself from her window seat and began to walk out of the room. Jasper was sitting on the other side of the room on the small couch they had in their room, desperately trying to concentrate on the book clutched in his hands instead of the dead emotions around him. He had a particularly terrible time trying to block out Edward, who seemed to only radiate pain all day long.

His eyes, however, watched as she left with a curious tint.

Alice let her hand glide against the railing as she made her way down the stairs, feeling the dust gather on her fingertips. She absentmindedly brushed them against her designer jeans, her mind reeling. She didn't have to worry about Edward reading her thoughts, since he was as good as dead anymore. The only time he ever really snapped at someone for their thoughts was when they focused on Bella for too long. Honestly, he being such a child...

When she reached the living room, she saw Emmett and Rosalie sitting on the couch. Rosalie was flipping through a magazine while Emmett was attempting to watch television but Alice could see his eyes drift and stare out the window on occasion. She knew that he, too, wanted to get out of the house into a happier atmosphere like Jasper did at times, but Emmett was more inclined to stay be Rosalie's side then Jasper was to stay at Alice's. Alice didn't mind it, much. She knew the differences between her and Jasper's relationship and Emmett and Rosalie's relationship. They were bigger differences then most would guess.

"I need to talk with everyone," She said in a small tone, knowing that everyone in the home would hear her.

In a second the room was full of vampires, the only one of their family missing seeming to be Edward. Carlisle's lips tightened into a frown at his son's behavior, but Alice shook her head when he went to call for him. She knew that he would hear her any way, and the topic she was going to use would certainly bring him downstairs and to Earth.

"We need to go back to Forks," She said after a moment, finding her strength easily.

A growl oozed from upstairs, drawn out and irritated.

Alice rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "This is ridiculous. Everyone is so upset and sad, almost constantly. We're making ourselves miserable and there's no telling how Bella is feeling at the moment. So what? There was one slip up, but she didn't die and she was the one saying that _she_ was sorry. She accepted us for who we were, and we left her without even saying good bye. I know we all feel bad about it, so how about instead of moping about it we do something?"

Emmett was grinning, nodding along with her statement while Esme's eyes were shining in a hopeful way. Carlisle looked contemplative, which made her insides swell with hope.

In a split second Edward was down the stairs, and Alice's lips twitched at the sight of him. His eyes were ebony, and his hair was more disheveled and unkempt looking then it normally was.

"We are not going back!" He snarled at her.

Alice snarled right back, seeming to surprise him with her quick retaliation. "You are not the boss, Edward! Last time I checked, Carlisle was the coven leader. Besides, we know that even you want to go back."

"I will not damn her, or end up as her murderer," Edward spat back.

Alice threw her hands into the air. "Oh, would you quit it! Bella did not _care_ about any of that damnation junk. She loved you and she loved _us_ unconditionally. And _you_ made us throw that away. It's killing us all inside. We all feel guilty, and we're all hurting because of decision that you made. Regardless of what you seem to think, Bella will not just suddenly forget about us. Memories don't work like that, even for humans, and you _know_ it."

"Alice," Carlisle intervened, "Edward has never asked much of us, it's only fair that we respect his wishes towards Bella."

"Do you like seeing him like this? Look at Edward! Even if this decision was his, all he does is sit around all day and let himself rot!" She shot next, turning on the very startled patriarch of their family. "You're our leader! You're supposed to do what's best for us. Look at us! Do we look happy?! And what about Bella? What about her wishes and what she wanted? We made her think she was one of us, and then suddenly left her. What is she supposed to think?! She thought of you as a father, and you left her behind. She thought of all of us as family, and we all left her behind. We _abandoned_ her!"

Carlisle's face flashed with pain, and he had to look away from his smallest daughter. Esme placed a hand on his shoulder, her eyes glistening with tears that would never fall.

Jasper placed a hand on her shoulder, sending out some calming waves over all the excitement of the room. It wasn't working, however, but Alice was grateful that he was at least trying. She didn't like the fighting, but she knew that she had to fight for what she thought was right in this situation, no matter who she was fighting against. If she didn't stand up, no one else would.

"Alice," Edward hissed, "This is the best for Bella. She will move on."

Alice frowned. It was time to pull out her secret weapon.

"Oh, really?" She spat back at him, "Then why is it that every time I try and look for Bella's future all I see is darkness?"

The room went silent. Edward's face was frozen in a neutral face. He was thinking about this. Alice knew that he had told her to stop looking at Bella's future, but even something like this would set off small alarms inside his head. This situation could be serious, and Alice didn't want to see her sister die because of a stupid choice they had all agreed to. None of them did.

"You can't see her anymore?" Esme asked softly, her eyes clouded with what looked like worry.

Alice felt her fire from the beginning of this argument beginning to die down, and her shoulders slumped as she slowly shook her head. "No, I haven't. Ever since we made the choice to leave I haven't seen anything of her future. It's all black. I want to believe it's just a fluke, but I'm worried. We don't know how much we hurt Bella, because we didn't stick around to check on her.

"I, for one, miss my best friend. I know all of you miss her, too. It makes no sense for all of us to stay away if it's only making all of us miserable," Alice said finally, finishing up her argument. She had nothing left to get across, and she was tired of arguing.

For a moment, Edward seemed like he was about to say no and crawl back into his cave of a room. However, he left out a small sigh, and nodded. "Alright."

Alice lit up and threw her arms around her brother's neck. The family seemed to brighten almost instantly, and all Alice could hear was Emmett's laughing, Esme's happy sobs, and Carlisle calling a moving company.

Things were looking up.

* * *

I saw things a bit differently now. The world wasn't so bleak now that I had the pack as my family. I didn't think about the Cullens constantly, and when I did it didn't hurt as much as it had before. I felt like someone had unchained me from my own demons. I felt so free. I had people who cared about me and to care about in return. I was weary to trust once again, but I knew that all of us were connected on a level that no one else would be able to understand.

I sat on the couch after school, studying for a test that was coming up in about a week. My hearing picked up on a car pulling into the driveway, and I recognized it as Emily's. Her niece was going to be staying with us for a few days, so Emily had went to pick her up. A smile crossed my face as I heard the little girl's babble from inside the car, and all the way to the front door. Emily managed to get the door with the girl balanced on her hip, and the little girl's eyes locked onto me. By my guess I would've said that she was at least three or so, possbily four.

Instantly I stood and crossed the room, smiling. "Hello."

Her face lit up in a shy smile, and she turned to hide her face in Emily's hair.

The two of us chuckled at the girl's behavior. Emily bounced her a little in her arms. "C'mon Claire, say hi to Bella."

Claire slowly peeked out at me, slowly turning until she faced me completely. She looked at me for a moment, before slowly reaching her arms out to me. Surprised, I gently took her from Emily's arms and balanced her on my hip. She reached up and touched a lock of my short hair, her small hands grabbing at it a lot gentler than I had expected.

"Pretty," She mumbled, a big smile on her face.

I smiled gently at her. "Thank you."

Emily was smiling at our interaction, and leaned forward. "Would you entertain her while I unpack her things, Bella?"

"Sure," I said with a nod, slowly switching the girl to my other hip.

Emily found a set of coloring books and crayons stashed in one of the bag's Claire's mother had packed for her, so that was how I spent a big half of my afternoon. I spread out on the floor with the small girl, laughing as she scribbled along the pages of her book, deciding to color my own while I watched her. She seemed to enjoy the coloring and such quite a lot, but liked to babble out small words and phrases she knew while doing it. It was cute to watch.

I had always liked children. A part of me longed to have them one day, but I didn't know how that would happen. I had yet to imprint on anyone and even if I did, I would have to stop phasing to have children. One thing I had found out from the legends of the wolves, is that we are technically immortal. As long as we continue to phase our bodies almost freeze in time, which means that if I find my imprint at some point and time and we try for children it means that I would have to give up being a wolf.

I didn't know how to feel about that.

Sam came home sometime later, and seemed startled to see a child in his home before realization touched his face. Emily introduced Claire to Sam, and from that moment he and the girl were inseparable. For the rest of the night the small child was at Sam's side, either being held by him or sitting in his lap. Emily and I had found this adorable, because Sam was actually quite good with her.

We ate a good supper, and I said my good night, receiving a good-night hug from the house's newest inhabitant.

The next day was a weekend, but I woke up to pressure suddenly hitting me in the stomach. My eyes flew open and I tensed, only to hear the laughter of a small child. I smiled sleepily at the small girl on me. Claire giggled and bounced on my stomach, making the empty thing gurgle. We both laughed that time, her at the sound of my stomach and me at the face she had made because of it.

I pulled myself out of bed, and walked out of my room with her balanced on my hip. Sam was standing in the door way with a smirk, and I punched his shoulder as I walked by. He followed me down stairs, and the further I got down the more voices I could hear. The pack had come over for breakfast, I realized. Claire seemed to be confused at the noise, and was hiding her face in my neck as we entered the kitchen.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Paul taunted, smirking at my bed-head.

I discreetly kicked him as I walked by, making Claire giggle as she peaked out at everyone.

"Who's kid?" Jared asked through a mouthful.

"Emily's brother's," I replied just as Sam had walked in. "Where is Emily, by the way?"

"She had to leave after she made breakfast. She's getting groceries," Sam said, setting himself at the head of the table to get his own food.

Claire had opened up a bit more now, and was looking around the room at all the big guys in the room. I was preparing her breakfast at the time, but keeping a close eye on her as she kept twisting and turning in my arms to look around at the guys. Finally she fussed a bit and wanted down, so I let her go and called to the guys to be careful.

I had just finished with her breakfast when I looked over and saw her pulling on the hem of Quil's shorts. Quil had stood to put his plate in the sink, and looked down. For a moment, I thought he stopped breathing. His eyes grew large, and he stared at the small girl who was now indicating that she wished to be held by him.

My lips pursed in confusion, before it hit me. "Oh my god..."

The rest of the pack stopped, looking at me before following my eyes to Quil. He had slowly placed his plate back on the table, before slowly reaching down and taking the little girl into his arms. She instantly warmed up to him, babbling and laughing a bit. Quil looked utterly amazed, absorbed in her mindless toddler chatter.

Then, he seemed to snap out of it. His eyes grew wide, and I saw a tremor run through him. I ran around the counter and darted to him, pulling Claire from his arms as Sam began to push him out of the house. Claire was crying at suddenly being jerked, and I was trying to console her and get away from the loud growling going on in the backyard. I took her breakfast in one hand and took her to the living room, allowing the rest of the pack to deal with Quil as I tended to the small girl.

Claire calmed down after she got to start eating while watching a little kids show I had managed to find on.

We had known that an imprintee could be a lot younger than us. I couldn't understand why Quil had freaked out so badly. He would be able to be there for his imprint as she grew, and make sure that no one hurt her. And then, once she was a lot older they may be able to pursue a relationship if that was what she wished. Imprinting didn't always mean romance. It meant being a protector of your other half, and Quil would have to wait for his to mature.

Quil ended up coming back in later, and I gave him a calculating look. He returned it with a pleading face. Slowly, I nodded, and Quil took a seat next to Claire, who brightened at the sight of him. Once I deemed that it was okay to leave her with him, I took her plate and went into the kitchen to wash the rest of the guy's plates.

When Emily got home she was very confused, but once it was explained in more detail she gave Quil full permission to be around Claire as long as he was careful with her.

"Another wolf on a leash," Paul said later, placing his hands behind his head as he walked.

"I can not wait until you imprint," I said, rolling my eyes at his child-ness as the two of us plus Jacob walked towards the woods.

Paul puffed out his chest. "I'm never going to imprint. I'm a free man."

"Okay," I scoffed sarcastically, rolling my eyes dramatically just to irritate him.

Jacob chuckled at our banter, and the three of us disappeared behind three different trees. I pulled off all of my clothing quickly, folding them into a pile behind the tree so that I could get them later. I phased quickly, feeling Jacob and Paul already inside my brain. The three of us were on patrol. Since it was the weekend, Jacob and I were both free to take duty. I enjoyed walking around in my wolf form, so I volunteered eagerly. Jacob volunteered not long after. Paul was stuck with it.

We went our separate ways, and I tried to keep out the banter between Paul and Jacob as I enjoyed my run. I was skirting around the edge of the Fork's line, when my nose was assaulted with seven different smells of vampire. My eyes widened at the size of their numbers, and I quickly threw my head back in a howl.

Two other fall off howls answered my own, and Paul and Jacob quickly changed their direction towards me. Soon, one by one, the rest of the pack joined us.

_"There's a lot of them,"_ I told Sam once he had joined us.

I followed the smell that was wafting from the direction of Forks, until I reached what used to be the treaty line. The line was a rocky five foot drop off in a small river. I could hear something on the other side, and I narrowed my eyes into the darkness. There was a noise of movement, until seven figures moved out of the shadows and stood still on the other side of the river.

My whole world stopped. I couldn't breath, could barely think. I pleaded that this was only a sick trick of my mind, but deep down I knew that it was real. They were standing in front of me, watching me with golden eyes that I missed so much before. Just seeing them again made me feel fragile, but I knew better. I was a lot stronger than that, and I refused to show anything else.

The Cullens were back.

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**Oooo... They're back!**

**I hope you guys liked this.**

**Please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Harley: Everybody ready?**

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Chapter 7

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Seven pairs of golden eyes bore into my frozen figure, and I wondered if my wolf form reminded them of the human they left behind. Did I strike a nerve, even when I wasn't humanly present? Or did I not matter enough to even cross their minds? I desperately wished that I could hear their melodic voices, and at the same time I just wished that they were gone. Everything in my life had been perfect and going smoothly, and now I found myself facing another bumpy path in my road of life.

There was a small silence as we all stared off against one another. They were a bit tense, but I couldn't blame them. We were supposed to be enemies. My stomach felt sick at the thought. We stood on two different sides, now. Literally, and figuratively. The short, rocky drop to the river below signified the edge of our lands. Before, I had stood on their side, content in the arms of the unmated son. Now, I stood on the other side to make sure that they didn't cross their boundaries. I now stood against the people I had once loved and cared about. A part of me screamed and told me that I still loved them, but I couldn't listen too it. I had to be stronger.

"We wanted to make sure that the treaty was still in order," Carlisle said suddenly, stepping closer to the river edge that divided us.

I stared at him carefully, ignoring the sound of Sam's voice speaking inside my head.

"I can't hear a voice from this one," Edward spoke, his eyebrows furrowing.

My heart pounded in my chest at the sound of his voice. I looked up slowly, and connected eyes with him. His eyes were questioning and guarded, while mine were full of fear and shock.

There was nothing. I could feel my old love for him in the far depths of my heart, aching but not really there, but other than that I felt nothing towards him. No supernatural pull, no instant need to be by his side. There was nothing but the left over feelings from a relationship long ago. The feeling of a worn, broken heart reliving a bit of the feelings it got to cherish a long time ago. A feeling I couldn't let burn, for he didn't want me and I didn't want him. I didn't belong to him. Edward was not my imprint.

A puff of air I didn't know I had been holding came out of my nose. A part of me was shocked when I stared into Edward's eyes and didn't feel the sudden connection and pull of imprinting that Sam, Jared, and Quil got to experience. The rest of me felt relieved to not be connected to the one who broke my heart, no matter how much I had expected it to be him.

"Maybe it's not one of them," Emmett suggested, shrugging his large shoulders. "It's kind of small to be one of the pack."

My eyes narrowed a bit, and I suppressed the urge to snarl. Everyone was always commenting on my small size. I happened to be the fastest runner in our pack due to my smaller size, and it gave me a bit of an advantage against the vampires I hunted. Maybe I didn't have the bigger teeth to gnash, or the larger claws to scrape, but I had agility and that was enough for me to get by in a fight of the supernatural.

"No, it's bigger than a normal wolf, just not the right size," Carlisle murmured softly, thinking that I would not hear his soft, fast vampire chatter.

"Maybe it's still young," Esme suggested.

"That doesn't explain why I can't hear it," Edward murmured, his eyes narrowing.

All talking ceased as they heard the approach of my pack. The males all straightened up in a protective way, the ones with mates seeming to shield them slightly. Alice, Esme, and Rosalie were guarded as well but it seemed to be that in a relationship of vampire mates, the male was more inclined to protect their mate even when the female was more than capable of winning a fight.

I felt Sam emerge from the trees on my right. I slowly turned my head to look at him, breaking contact with the Cullens to turn my attention to my Alpha. I felt a flush of embarrassment when I realized that I had been ignoring my pack mate's voices inside of my head in favor of my shock of seeing the Cullens again.

_"It's alright,"_ Sam consoled when he felt a bit of my embarrassment, connecting eyes with me. _"Will you be okay to stay?"_

Jacob came up on my right side, bumping his shoulder against mine in an act of comfort.

_"Yeah,"_ I thought back to him softly, looking at the ground. _"I won't let past feelings get in the way of my pack duties."_

Sam radiated a strong feeling of pride for my choice as he nodded his head and finally turned to look at the Cullens. They were a lot more tense now, seeing that my pack mates were all much larger than I and that there was a large quantity of us. I wondered if they realized that they were part of this, the reason why we phased generation after generation.

"I can hear the thoughts of the others, just not the small one," Edward mumbled to his family.

_"We can hear you!"_ Paul snarled, snapping his jaws threateningly as his body leaned over our side of the river.

Emmett growled from deep within his throat, pushing out his chest in a threatening manner as he stared right into the eyes of my pack brother.

_"Paul! Stand back!"_ Sam ordered, just as Carlisle called Emmett away from the potential confrontation.

"We just want to make sure that our treaty is still intact. We aren't here to cause any fights. We have decided to move back into town, and we just wanted to confirm our boundaries," Carlisle said wearily, his caramel colored eyes glancing between his largest son and the silver wolf on our side.

Sam was speaking the conditions back to the Cullens, while my head was trying to wrap around Carlisle's words.

My heart thudded painfully inside my chest. They were back. I would smell them every time I did patrol. I would be reminded of them and all the love I had once had for them. That irritated me a bit, because all I had wanted was to move on. It made it so much harder with their presence now dangling right in front of me. They would always be around, and I would always know it due to my supernatural abilities. Getting over them would be so much harder with them hanging around.

_"It'll be okay, Bella,"_ Jacob comforted when he heard the contents of my thoughts, nudging me once again with his shoulder.

At first I accepted his comfort with a small, mental smile. But, then I realized just what he had said and who could hear it on the other side of the line. My eyes widened and my head snapped over to Edward, who had easily heard Jacob's thoughts and his addressing of my name. His eyes were narrowed, starring at Jacob with calculating eyes.

"Bella?" He murmured lowly, and everyone stopped.

Jacob seemed to realize his error, but faced Edward with a stony look. He growled deep within his chest as the vampire continue to stare at him, almost as though he were wondering if he heard him right. Jacob seemed to confirm that with his protective nature, for his eyes slid from Jacob to me. I felt my whole body freeze up as our eyes connected once again. I had no strength to pull away, smothered by his golden eyes. He stared deeply, his own golden gaze widening when they found familiar dark brown depths. His face looked disbelieving at first, and he stepped closer to the edge.

Everyone else was watching as I slowly stepped forward, until my claws touched the edge of my side. The Cullens looked confused at Edward's sudden actions, while the pack was watching to make sure that neither of us crossed our boundaries. Sam wasn't ordering me back, knowing that this may just be the confrontation I needed. I could hear his thoughts, and knew that deep down he was hoping that I would see darkness within the Cullens, and dislike them just as much as the rest of my pack did.

The pack had all tensed up at his movements and words, knowing exactly what was going on while most of the Cullen clan was left in the dark.

Edward's eyes hadn't left mine as he searched them. It was like he was analyzing every piece of me before he could possibly believe what was before his eyes. His eyes studied the color of my own before gazing over my fur. The dark brown was the same shade of my hair, except for the black tipping my ears and chest. He seemed to realize this as well, for his eyes were widening to a point of shock.

Finally, he questioned me this time. "Bella?"

I paused for a moment, before nodding my head.

His eyes widened, and the rest of the Cullen family seemed to understand. Their eyes locked on me, seeming to make the same critical search that Edward had. Edward, at that moment, looked thunder struck. His eyes were wide, and I could see the slight shaking of his fists. At first it looked like he didn't want to believe what was right in front of him. He shook his head a few times, almost like he believed that if he did he wouldn't see me as a little wolf but as the girl he left.

A part of me felt proud to put him in his place. He left, and I blossomed into something stronger. I was the fastest wolf of the La Push pack, the only current female. He didn't want anything to do with me, used me, and I because stronger because of it. I was proud to show everyone that he hadn't completely ruined me, and I had become something very special due to his heart-breaking actions.

"Bella?" Alice asked, tip-toeing to the edge with her brother.

I looked into her eyes, nodding to her as well.

Esme gasped lightly, bringing her hand to her mouth.

I wished for a moment, that it wasn't like it was. I wished that we weren't mortal enemies. I wished that they had cared enough to stick around and be my family, but they hadn't. They had left me alone and they had let me hurt. They had been the cause of my pain that I had been getting over, and were now the cause of the pause in my recovery.

At that time, my life felt like a lake. When it was normal and unharmed, it was calm and moved gently through the motions of life. But every time it was disturbed, it was like a rock was thrown into the water and caused a huge ripple effect. The effect of the Cullens was like throwing boulders into the water instead of rocks, and the ripples were never ending. Just when my life could begin to settle and the last of the ripples were smoothing out along the surface, another boulder smashed into it.

_"Bella, are you sure you're ready for confrontation like this?"_ Sam asked to make sure, stepping forward a bit as he and the other wolves felt the tension coming from my own mind.

I looked over my shoulder at him, not quiet sure myself. Everything was happening so fast that I didn't know what to think at that time. I almost wanted to put myself on auto-pilot, like I had always done in the past when a situation became too stressful for me to handle. However, I was stronger then I used to be. I knew that. I could handle anything the world threw at me. My spirit was that of a wolf, and I would always have my pack to back me up and help me when I needed them.

_"Everything will be fine, Sam,"_ I consoled him, before turning my head back to the Cullens.

The Cullens all looked shaken, and slowly I met each of their eyes. Carlisle had taken Esme under his arm, and was looking just as shocked as the rest of his family. I could also see his eye brows draw together, and could almost see the gears in his head turning as he began to contemplate my possible phasing. Esme looked upset for some reason, her eyes watering with venom. Edward was still looking shocked beyond comprehension, his eyes never leaving my form. Alice was smiling uneasily, seeming to accept my new body but was still a biy weary. Emmett, however, was grinning without a thought, even though Rosalie was looking very critical from her position at his side.

Finally, my eyes reached Jasper. His form was tensed up, ready to attack at any sign of a fight from either side and he was watching Alice carefully and protectively. He had always looked like the strong, silent type even before I had ever seen him so tense. It almost looked like their was a different person standing in his shell, someone who would snap at anyone who would dare harm his family.

When he felt my eyes touch him, however, he let his golden eyes look into my own.

Both of our eyes widened.

_Oh my god..._

The breath I had been taking in caught in my throat. A switch in my head had been flicked. The ground beneath my feet suddenlt shifted, and the world I'd created started falling off its axis. Gravity no longer kept me grounded to this earth. All of my emotions felt like they'd made a tight loop around him, connecting us together. I wanted to be around him, and get to know him the way I couldn't do before. Nothing else mattered, but him.

From where I stood I could smell him, both his natural scent and a small mixture of his cologne. It was easier to sniff out than any other smell I had ever come across. It was so crisp and clear, and addicting to take it. It muddled my sense, made me feel drowsy in a comfortable, numbing way. It made me feel completely relaxed even when I was surrounded by tense vampires and wolves, and all I wanted was to have him by my side to feel this way for the rest of my life.

Every piece of me suddenly belonged to him. I was his for eternity no matter who protested, because he was my other half. I no longer breathed to live, I breathed for him. I lived for him. I lived to protect him, and I lived to please him. He was the only reason for me to go on and enjoy life, because he was my life.

All that mattered in my life anymore was Jasper.

My eyes began to refocus as the fantasy washed away, my sense of the world coming back. Everything slowly returned as the glow of my imprinting was smothered under the weight of reality. When realization caught back up to me, my eyes glanced from my imprint, to Alice, to Edward, and then to the pack. I was the enemy. My imprint was my enemy. My imprint belonged to my old best friend. I imprinted on my past love's taken brother.

I stopped breathing as an icy cold guilt washed curled around in my stomach. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening, it was impossible.

Before anyone could ask what had just happened, I turned tail and ran. Alice and Edward called out for me, surprised at my sudden retreat. I heard my pack's startled voices yelling inside my head, but I ignored them. I found myself sprinting as fast as my wolf-body would allow, jumping over fallen logs and large rocks. I didn't know where I was going, all I knew was that I needed to leave. I needed to go. I needed to run.

But the further I got away, the more pieces I felt cracking away from my heart. The more realization I gained of the situation, made me realize that my imprint would never love me back. I was a shape shifter, he was a vampire. He was taken, I was the ex of his brother. The love that an imprint required would never have a chance to flourish, no matter that our souls truly belonged to each other.

He would never want me as I was. Not as a wolf, not as his wife's ex-bst friend, not as his brother's ex, and certainly not as the clumsy girl who made him lose control over a paper cut. The thought sent my heart burning, squeezing in agony inside my chest. It made my whole body hurt inside and out, like drinking acid and then bathing in the left overs.

_"Oh my god, oh my god..."_

_"Bella! Bella, stop!"_

_"She imprinted! She freaking imprinted!"_

_"On who?! The bronze haired one?"_

_"No, no, no, no, no..."_

_"No! The curly haired blonde!"_

_"Jacob, Embry, follow her!"_

_"Bella, come back! Now!"_

I felt the weight of Sam's alpha commands push down on my shoulders, almost like a physical force trying to put my body into submission. I felt my feet digging into the ground as they tried to stop, and turn back to heed to the command of my alpha. I pushed, however, and pulled until the power of my broken heart sliced through the command. I kept running, ignoring the feeling of my pack's shock as I broke from my alpha's command and kept running.

I was too scared to stop running. I didn't want to face what had just happened, because I knew that everyone would hate me. My pack would hate me from imprinting on the enemy, and the Cullens already didn't like me. They had left me, they didn't care about me. Knowing that I was a wolf and had imprinting on one of their own that was already taken would disgust them. They wouldn't accept me, my imprint would not accept me. I could never be with my soul mate, my true other half.

Soon, the territory around me was no longer familiar. It didn't stop me from running, however, and neither did the sound of two of my pack mate's following me the whole way. They stopped trying to tell me to stop, but allowed me to run. I knew by their thoughts that they were just waiting for me to tire so that they could take me back to La Push. I didn't want too, however, not even when I felt my body slowly beginning to shut down.

My feet felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each, and each step felt like an intense effort. My lungs were expanding and deflating rapidly as I lost track of my breathing, and I could feel my heart fluttering painfully to try and pull oxygen into my body. I needed oxygen, to stop running and allow my brain and blood to recuperate, but I didn't slow down. My mind got foggy, and my vision was swaying. But I didn't dare stop.

All I could see in my head was the face of my imprint. Every moment I had ever had before with Jasper was flashing through my mind like a slide show. My whole body felt conflicted. It wanted to love his image, but when I pulled myself away from it and tried to reject the feelings it began to wear down and feel broken to the point of illness. It felt like my inside were being ripped apart every time I told myself that I could never have my imprint, and it got to the point where I just shut myself off completely.

After running for miles, I finally stopped when I tripped on a log. My body skidded painfully against the ground, but I did not get up once I stopped. I lay there, beaten down. My breath was barely coming out, my heart beating with effort inside of my chest. I gave up on trying to run, hearing Jacob and Embry catch up and stand around me. The world was too far away for me to keep running, and my body was too heavy to even think about moving. I closed my eyes, ignoring them as they began to fire off questions. My body slowly relaxed as I let it shut down, until I could feel darkness licking at the edges of my mind. I succumbed to it, allowing myself to drift into sleep.

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When Bella suddenly ran off, all hell seemed to break loose. The wolves were whining with panic, moving back and forth on their front and back paws. The black wolf, seeming to be the Alpha, looked shocked right to the core. The other wolves were waiting for orders but he had to take a moment to get over his shock. It took a moment for him to take control of himself. He shook his head, before turning his back on the vampires in front of him and giving off orders.

Two of the other wolves broke off from the formation they had going, seeming to be chasing after their runaway member. The others looked purely nervous. They didn't like what was happening at all, anyone could tell by their demeanor. They were still moving on their feet, while looking at the Cullens in a new light. They still looked tense, but they also looked a bit awed and shocked. Something had to have happened.

Edward listened closely to their thoughts, his eyes widening at the things he was hearing. He couldn't believe it in the slightest, it was too far fetched. But everything they were thinking they believed one hundred percent. They weren't lying, weren't trying to fool them. This was really happening. His hand clenched into fists at his side, shaking with suppressed emotion. He looked absolutely sick with what he was hearing, his face tensing with anger.

"Edward, what's going on?" Esme whispered, her eyes darting from the wolves and to the spot where Bella had once stood.

He shook his head, closing his eyes for a few moments of peace. It was interrupted by the alpha, however, and the mind reader lifted his eyes to look into the Alpha's own pair. A silent conversation between the two started up, and Edward nodded every few seconds to something the Alpha said, his face still distressed.

The Cullens watched as the wolves suddenly turned and began to take their leave. The alpha went first, before the rest of the pack soon turned to follow him. They were left alone on their side of the treaty line, all confused except for Edward, who was glaring out into the forest with a tense jaw.

None of them knew exactly what was going on. All they knew was that Jasper had gone still, his eyes not leaving the spot where Bella had once stood. He wasn't even breathing, his whole body tensed up. He was trying to sort out the feelings in his chest. When he had connected eyes with her, something inside of him felt shifted. For a few seconds he had felt completely whole and warm, but now that she had run off it felt like there was a big piece of him missing. He didn't understand.

"Edward?" Carlisle asked, moving forward slightly so that he could place his hand on his son's shoulder.

"The Pack agreed that the treaty is still in order," Edward said instantly, his expression unchanging.

"What about Bella?" Emmett asked, looking crestfallen, "Why did she run from us?"

Edward shook his head, raising a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "She wasn't running away from us. She was running away from something she did. Something she can't help, something that we can't do a thing about."

"What?" Alice urged, her eyes shining with worry.

He looked up, his eyes blackened. He stared out at the woods once more before turning to face his family. They were all looking at him with worried expressions. He could see how much they cared about Bella, even now that she was a shape shifter. He could see that they were sad to have missed such a dramatic change in her life and had not been there to help her through it. They were worried for her and their worry had increased due to his attitude of the situation.

"Bella imprinted," He finally admitted, unable to get out the rest of the idea without feeling sick.

Alice let out a puff of air. "Is that all? That's great news! If she's imprinted on you then that just means that you two are meant to be! She'll come around better if she's imprinted on you. We just need to give her some time to adjust and then we'll all be able to be a family again."

"What about her being a wolf?" Rosalie asked, flipping a lock of hair over her shoulder. "What will the pack say about her imprinting on a vampire?"

"They obviously care about her," Alice protested, "So they should be supportive of her."

"This is a rather strange occurrence," Carlisle murmured, his brows drawing together. "I didn't think it would ever be possible for a wolf to imprint on one of our own, considering the wolves usually imprint on those who allow them to pass down their strongest genes."

Esme placed a hand upon his shoulder. "They couldn't just imprint for strong genetics. There has to be some sort of compatability. Maybe we were wrong, and the wolves truly imprint for the soul purpose of finding their soulmate. We always just assumed it was for strong genes, but Bella just proved us wrong."

"I want to know how she even turned into a wolf," Emmett said, crossing his arms over the large expanse of his chest. "She wasn't showing any symptoms like that before we left."

Edward stayed silent for a moment, a flicker of thought crossing his face. He contemplated his family's thoughts. They thought that Bella had imprinted on him. He didn't want to tell them, he didn't want them to know. He didn't want _him_ to know. All he wanted was Bella back in his arms. He wanted her to be his and his alone, no matter what her imprinting said. He looked over at his family, his eyes clouded over. He glanced at each one of their faces, his eyes landing on Jasper last.

Jasper's eyes were narrowed, staring Edward down. In Jasper's chest, he could feel that something was wrong. A part of him was pulling, twisting, and hurting deep within his chest. Lingering in his head was Bella's brown eyes, staring at him as her emotion flipped and flopped around. Her wolfy face has looked awed, then pained, and finally panicked as she'd turned and ran from them. Her emotions had reflected her face, only in a much more conflicting and confusing series of switches.

He wanted to follow her, for some reason. It was like a deep itch embedded into his being. He wanted to make sure that she was okay, but he knew that he wouldn't make it across the treaty line without both vampires and wolves stopping him. Deep down, he knew what this pull could mean.

However, it didn't seem possible. Not if she'd imprinted on Edward. No, it wouldn't make any sense at all.

But Edward had nothing left to say to Alice's assumption, his face contemplative and his emotions deceptive as he allowed Jasper's pixie of a wife to pull him back towards the house.

Something was not right.

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**Dun dun dun...**

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	8. Chapter 8

Cobalt-Marionette: Hey guys! Another chapter coming up!

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Chapter 8

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Jasper couldn't take it. It was driving him insane. Alice was upstairs with Edward, fluttering about as excited as could be. She was discussing ways to barter with the wolves, to see if there was some way they could get Bella and Edward together to talk about things. The more time that passed, the more guilt and sneaky emotions leaked off of Edward.

The more they spoke about Bella and Edward together, the more Jasper's chest began to hurt. It his heart was being torn to pieces. He felt more and more disconnected from Alice and the rest of the family with each passing second, and he didn't know why. It was like a piece of him, a rather large piece, was missing and as each second passed he wanted to go and find it more and more. It felt like he was falling apart on the inside, and the old Major hated every second of it.

It had something to do with Bella. Every time she was mentioned, a small feeling inside him stirred. It didn't last long, getting squashed once Edward was added to the mentioning. Every time her name came out of the mind-reader's mouth, the Major wanted to tear him to pieces. Hearing Edward speak of Bella so sweetly and as though they were going to be together again made the empath's blood boil. It made him want to hurt Edward, hurt his brother.

More than once Jasper forced himself to remain calm. More then once Jasper had stopped himself from taking down his brother. More then once, Jasper had to leave the area to avoid feeling his family's emotions. More then once, Jasper found himself annoyed with his wife.

Alice. Something didn't feel right about his relationship anymore. Normally, the Major loved and fiercely protected Alice with all of his being. Now, he didn't feel as... connected to her. It was like he didn't love her the same way as he had, and he could tell that his wife knew that there was something wrong with him. She tried to get through to him, but she was a bit too preoccupied helping Edward. Jasper himself didn't want to bring it up. He may not feel the same, but he didn't want to hurt her. He still cared.

All this nonsense had started yesterday when he had connected eyes with Bella. Something had shifted inside of him, a very noticeable change. Deep inside, his heart was aching for her. He seemed to be sensitive to any subject involving her. Every thought of her with Edward made the beast in him snarl and growl with rage. Something was wrong.

But Edward had implied that Bella imprinted on him. Implied. Not confirmed. Jasper could feel the deception leaking off of him. Right after Bella had left and Edward had been tuning in to the wolves' thoughts, nothing seemed right. Edward's emotions changed so fast that he'd had a hard time picking up on them. But when the Cullens kept pointing out that Bella had imprinted on Edward, the mind-reader's emotions had instantly turned sneaky and guilty. Edward was lying.

This angered Jasper. Edward was selfish enough to lie about that and still try to get Bella back, even though it was obvious that she wasn't his other half. Normally, this would've made him upset, but now that he seemed to be fine tuned to any subject involving Bella he was angry in such a way that he hadn't felt since he had been towards himself when he accidently took a snap at Bella.

"I'm going on a hunt," He said to the empty room, knowing that everyone in the house would be able to hear him.

He felt Alice's emotions sink, but couldn't allow himself to feel too bad. He needed a break away from Edward. He just needed to be able to think and feel without all of the guilt oozing off of Edward corrupting his thoughts.

Jasper quickly took off into the woods. He ran until he could no longer feel his family's emotions, before he began the hunt. He allowed himself to slip into a different persona, one he had to hide from the rest of the world. Alice and the rest of the Cullens didn't like seeing him let go, so he was only allowed to do so when he was hunting by himself. The old Major in him slipped into place, and Jasper allowed his senses to become his guide.

Sometimes he felt so restrained by the Cullens rules, but they were his family. Sadly, even Edward. But at times he felt like he couldn't be who he was. He had fought in a war, and had been manipulated by Maria. He had switched diets. He couldn't be perfect. No vampire was truly perfect. Sure, maybe on the outside, but on the inside their personalities were just like humans. They could change, and they could do things that weren't acceptable.

But now, alone, he could be himself completely.

Jasper closed his eyes, and took in a breath. The worry and confusion slowly slipped away. His shoulders squared, and the rest of his body tensed up. There was a thick, lazy crunch of footsteps a few hundred feet away. The labored huffs of a bear's breath reached his ears, and he listened as the great beast lumbered through the woods with heavy, noisy steps.

The Major's body slowly turned towards the sound of the bear, and he quickly made his way towards his prey. His steps were silent and careful, making sure to step around anything that would make noise for the bear to hear. Jasper didn't quite feel like having a chase that day. What he wanted was the satisfying feeling of warm blood slithering down his throat, soothing against the constant aching and burn.

His thoughts made him even more thirsty, and he was quick to make his move. He spun around the the last tree separating him and his prey, the bear letting out a muffled noise as his body collided with its own. The bear struggled fiercely, dragging its large claws through the materials of his clothes but never through his rock-hard skin.

The Major snapped its neck quickly, before sinking his razor teeth into his meal. As the warm, ruby colored liquid began to slosh down his throat Jasper allowed his thoughts to wander. He found himself imagining Bella. The only images he had of her were the memories of the old Bella he had once tried to attack, and the wolf that he pulled him in. He wondered what she looked like now in her human form. Certainly some things must've changed with her phasing.

A deep part of his chest began hurting. He hadn't felt pain like this in a while. It felt like his heart was burning and twisting in agony, but it made no sense considering that his heart had been dead and unbeating for many years. But it literally felt as though something had wrapped it's cold, slimy fingers around his heart and squeezed as hard as it could. For some reason, the feeling made him long to see the brunette that was currently on his mind.

When Jasper realized where his thoughts had gone, he pulled himself away from the empty carcass and felt a bit guilty. He hurriedly began to dispose of the drained animal, just like Carlisle had shown him how to do many years ago.

How could he be thinking of another when he had Alice?

Some how, that thought didn't help him feel any less guilty.

* * *

When I woke, I found myself in total agony. My body felt like it was being pulled apart on the inside. Each intake of breath made my whole body smart with pain. My heart literally felt like it was broken, and I had never felt more powerless before in my life. Everything I did felt like it was an extreme effort, and no matter how hard I tried to feel like I was normal I only succeeded in feeling more drained in the end.

I knew why my body was doing this, but there was no way I could fix it. Rejecting an imprint puts a shape shifter through total and complete agony. You're pulling away from the other half of your heart and soul, and the pain shows you just how much that effects you. we weren't meant to reject the imprint. We were supposed to connect with them and become one in two bodies. But I couldn't, and I refused to. I wouldn't disturb my imprint's perfect life. He had a wife, whom I knew that he loved.

All of my memories of Alice and Jasper were perfect. You could tell that he loved her when you saw how his eyes would follow her around the room. His lips would twitch into a smile when she got particularly happy. He was connected with her on a level that I would never be able to reach, and it was killing me inside. He was so happy without me, and it hurt me to admit that he was better off without me. I could never tell him, never see him again.

I couldn't do that to him, or to Alice. Despite how angry I felt towards Alice, I would cross a forbidden line if I tried to take the love of her life. I wasn't that kind of girl, it would feel too spiteful. Not that I would be capable of taking him in the first place, because Jasper was perfectly happy with Alice as his one and only.

Those thoughts, accompanied by the knowledge that he'd never want me anyway were always pulsing through my head.

So I ignored it. I ignored the pain and hurt, and attempt to move on. It was so difficult to function, because in all reality a wolf wasn't supposed to be able to properly function without their imprint. They needed to know if their love was okay, safe, happy, content, pleased, and felt loved. Everything revolved around their imprint. And no matter how much I longed to know if Jasper was safe, happy, content, pleased, and loved I couldn't go and see him. I could never face him or the rest of the Cullens again.

I turned myself on auto-pilot. I couldn't keep up a facade with all the pain I felt inside. I was literally being torn apart on the inside, and I couldn't hide it. The Pack tried to help me. They tried to convince me to go see the Cullens and get all of this out in the open, but I refused. I wouldn't stoop to the level the Cullens had taken when they had used me for human entertainment. I wouldn't hurt their family by trying to rip it apart with my feelings.

When Emily found out what kind of situation I was in, she told me something about her and Sam that I had never known. Sam had been dating Emily's cousin Leah before he had met Emily. He had stayed with Leah even after he had phased, because she was only one he had at that time. But, when Emily came to visit Leah everything went to hell. Leah and Emily had been the best of friends, and Leah had been happy to show her sister-like figure the love of her life. But when Leah introduced the two, Sam imprinted on Emily. He broke Leah's heart, dumped her, and began to pursue Emily. Emily had tried to refuse him, never wanting to betray Leah in such a way. But, after a while the pull of imprinting proved to strong for Emily and she gave in.

I felt even worse after that, but I didn't tell Emily. I had simply excused myself to my room. Imprinting was such a disaster. Not only had it ruined this girl's, Leah's, life, it had ruined mine. Leah lost the love her life, and I found myself tied to a man who wouldn't love me or accept me because he was already taken and would detest me for what I was. I was damned to eternal torture, feeling my inside burn and rip at the thought of my soul mate in the arms of my ex-best friend. Leah was damned to broken heart, losing the love of her life and the girl she had once called a sister.

Out of all the pack, I think Jacob took my disconnection from the world the hardest. I didn't have the heart to joke around with him and the rest of my pack brothers, no matter how hard I tried. I felt broken and powerless, and I hated it. All I seemed to do was bring them down, so I tried to distance myself from them. They weren't having it, however, and surrounded my with their presence as much as they could. They helped me feel a bit better, but I could never completely bring myself back to normal.

I tried, I did. I tried so hard to smile and laugh, but the pain in my stomach would only intensify when my thoughts would drift. They kept going back to Jasper, and that would only start the cycle over again. I felt like I was going insane, thinking about him so much when I truly didn't know him. But on the inside that's all I longed for. I wanted to know him, but I never could and that hurt me.

"Bella!" Quil howled, bursting into my room with Embry and Jacob at his heels.

I looked up from position on the bed, my face having been buried into my school work. Ever since my imprinting I had taken to trying to occupy my time with something ever second. My grades were picking up even more now, because all I did was homework, study, patrol, and attempt to sleep. Any spare time left me thinking about Jasper.

"We're going cliff diving!" Embry said, grinning from ear to ear.

I stared at the three boys, blinking a couple times. They groaned, and Quil and Embry jumped forward. Quil grabbed me under my arms, and Embry grabbed my legs. Jacob was laughing as they all began to pull me out of the house. I tried protesting, saying that I had school work to do but they didn't listen. I tried struggling, but my body was too weak to do anything against them.

The guys literally carried me all the way to the beach. We got a lot of strange looks, but that didn't deter them. They set me on my feet at the bottom of the cliff. Jacob took my arm so that I couldn't run off, and the four of us began to walk up the cliff. I couldn't see the harm in spending some time with my brothers, even though my insides were burning and crawling with every passing second.

We jumped for many hours, but it didn't feel as freeing as it used to. I was tied down to the Earth not by gravity, but by Jasper. Despite not being one-hundred percent into it, it did help me feel a bit better. The feeling of the jump did help me forget for a bit, but I could never completely forget my imprint. However, it provided a well enough distraction that I got to feel a bit happy.

I could tell that they noticed how I couldn't force myself into feeling the same joy I used to, but they seemed to have fun themselves. After it began to get dark, the four of us were walking back to Sam's, sopping wet and perfectly warm.

"Thanks for taking me out today," I told them sincerely, "I needed a bit of a break."

Jacob sighed. "Bella, you need to go see him."

A flash of irritation went through me. I had already discussed this with him and the rest of the pack before. I wouldn't ruin my imprint's perfect life. There were so many things wrong with me imprinting on Jasper that I just couldn't do it. I had to endure this pain because it would hurt too many people for me to act upon it.

"Look, I know you've said this before. But, look at you. You're obviously not okay, Bella. You look horrible," Jacob said honestly.

Embry and Quil seemed to distance themselves from the conversation, looking a bit nervous. They didn't seem to want to voice their opinions, even though I could tell that they believed that Jacob was right. I was glad that they hadn't joined in and knew that it was better to leave me alone. That's all I needed. I needed to be alone so that no one would end up getting hurt.

"Just leave it, Jake," I said, brushing past him once I saw that Sam and Emily's house was in view.

I quickly went inside and up the stairs, looking forward to a hot shower and finishing up my homework. Anything so that the subject of Jasper would leave my mind. I needed to clear my head, because Jacob had brought up a whole knew round of thoughts into my head. I felt myself being torn apart on the inside, and for the first time in a long time I wanted to cry.

I hated feeling so powerless.

* * *

Jacob knew that he had to do something.

For the longest time he had felt his feelings for Bella grow. They started back when she was still dating Edward, so of course he didn't act upon them. At that time, he hadn't known what Edward was, either. All he had known was that he had a small crush on Bella Swan, and she wasn't single. So he moved on. Then he heard that the Cullen family had left and he thought that he had a chance to maybe get her around to feeling the same way he felt.

It didn't work that way, however. He had went with his father to watch a game with Charlie, only to find out that Bella had moved to La Push. With who, he didn't reveal at the time and he didn't reveal why either. His father seemed to know something, though, but he wouldn't admit to Jacob when he had asked.

Then, he saw Bella at school a week or two later. It had hurt him when she had brushed him off. Then he found out she was living with Sam and that she was part of his little gang. It had angered him to no end that she had been "swayed" into their group. He knew then that was why she had been acting such a way to him, and it only made him resent Sam that much more.

After that, Embry got sick and Bella came to school with the boy at her side. He and Quil had tried several times to talk to Embry, but the boy had brushed them off the same way Bella had when they had first talked to her. For the first time, Jacob had truly felt hatred towards Bella Swan. He hated that she had taken his friend away and that she was ignoring him. He wanted to yell at her, tell her how much she had hurt him in such a short amount of time.

But, then he understood. He became part of the pack and he understood so much more then he had before. At first he was worried for Bella. He was worried that he would see her die because of their nature. He didn't think that she was as strong as the rest of them, but she had proved him wrong. He knew after making up with her, that they were never meant to be. He hadn't imprinted on her, which usually wouldn't have deterred him much, but she also had not imprinted on him. After her break up with Edward it had been obvious that Bella didn't want anymore heartbreak, and wanted to wait for her imprint.

Only, that ended up hurting her just as much.

Now, Bella was allowing herself to die on the inside for the sake of her imprint. She just gave up, thinking that her imprint would never love her. She thought that she was a horrible person, for something she could not control. She didn't want to hurt the Cullens, but Jacob said fuck what the Cullens think. Bella was killing herself by not accepting her imprint and trying to not be around him. Even though Jacob had come to see her as his sister, it didn't change the fact that he wanted to see her happy.

Right now, Bella was not happy. He needed to do something, because he wanted her to be happy. He wanted to see her laugh and joke around with him and the rest of the pack. But that wouldn't happen until she got some closure with her imprint. A shape shifter needed to know if their imprint was happy, and Bella couldn't know any of things if she was curled up in her room all day long. She would never be able to properly live again if she didn't go and see her imprint. In fact, she would probably die at the rate she was going on.

Jacob bid Embry and Quil good bye, and they left him standing in front of Sam's house. He waited until he heard Bella settle down on the second floor. He knew that she wouldn't properly sleep until later into the night, but at least she was shut down enough that he could enter the home and do what he needed to do.

Sam and Emily were curled up on the couch, enjoying some time together. Sam's eyes connected with him when he heard him enter.

"Jacob, what's wrong?" Sam questioned, sitting up more.

"We need to talk," Jacob said, nodding towards the front door.

The Alpha's eyes darted between him and Emily, before Emily gave him an encouraging smile and a soft push. He quickly kissed her temple before reluctantly following Jacob out the front door. He seemed irritated, but got more curious when Jacob led him far away from the house. They entered the forest on the other side of the road, and once Jacob was sure that they were out of Bella's hearing range he turned to face his Alpha.

"We need to do something about the treaty," Jacob said.

Sam perked up an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"We need to get the Cullens over here on our side of the line," Jacob said.

Sam's face morphed from confused and slightly humored, to stone cold. "That's not possible, Jacob. Why would we do such a thing anyway?"

"You know why!" Jacob snapped, a growl rumbling in his chest. "Bella is dying! You know it, I know it, the whole pack knows it! We can see how different she is. She's miserable, and she's going to allow it happen. She's going to let herself wilt away with all her pain, because she's rejecting the imprint. It's tearing her apart on the inside, and you know that just as much as all of us. She will never be the same until she talks to her imprint, and we all know she's not going to be the one to go over there."

Sam's expression didn't change through out all of Jacob's speech, and Jacob wanted nothing more than to punch his Alpha right in the face. How could be so insensitive towards this? Bella was getting worse with each passing day. On the inside she was losing pieces of herself as time went on, and Jacob refused to sit by and watch her die due to her own stubborn-ness. He would save her if it was the last thing he ever did.

"Jacob, I can't bend the rules just for this. They've been here for many years, and the treaty hasn't been changed a single time. Besides, we aren't allowed to invade their territory with the treaty anyway," Sam said, his face hard.

"How do you expect Bella to go on if she can't see her imprint either way?!" Jacob spat. "You'd sit there and watch her die? Are you really that heartless, Sam? I thought you cared about all of us. Bella needs our help more than ever, because she's too selfless to disrupt the Cullens' perfect little life. She's giving up eternal happiness so that the people who hurt her won't end up getting hurt by this imprinting. She's suffering, Sam! We need to get the Cullens in on this and fix it!"

"I do understand, Jacob, but the rules are the rules. I care about Bella, too, but there's nothing I can do for her," Sam said.

Jacob felt like ripping his hair out. How could Sam just let this carry on? How could he not want to help Bella? Sam, Paul, and Jared had been with the girl longer than the rest of the pack. How could that not mean something to him? How cold he be so cold towards Bella, when the girl had been such a big part of his life?

He wouldn't stand for it. Screw Sam's treaty. Jacob refused to watch Bella continue dying with each passing day. She wouldn't do something, and neither would Sam. So, Jacob would take it into his own hands. He wouldn't let one of his closest friends keep going through something like this. He knew deep down inside, that if Bella had been in his shoes she would do the same thing for him.

Jacob turned away from Sam and began to walk towards the direction of Forks.

"Jacob, where are you going?" Sam shouted, walking after the younger boy.

"I'm doing what you won't. I'm going to go talk to the Cullens," Jacob said simply, continuing to walk away from his Alpha.

He could practically feel the anger radiating off of Sam.

"Jacob, stop!" Sam shouted.

He felt his shoulders pull back and his feet go heavy.

Jacob grit his teeth, feeling the weight of an Alpha's command trying to hold him down. However, he kept pushing on. It felt like his whole body was being pushing back, trying to will him to stop and heed his Alpha's command. Every nerve in his body was tingling with effort, fighting against both his Alpha's command and his will to break through it. It was like his body was being torn. He couldn't give up, however, because this was Bella's life he was fighting for.

"Stop!" Sam growled darkly, his voice so powerful that it sent tremors through Jacob's body.

For a moment it felt like every inch of him weighed a thousand pounds. He pulled against the forces holding him down, his legs shaking with effort as he tried to take another step. His jaw was beginning to hurt, because he was clenching it so hard. He couldn't stop, he had to keep going. He raised his arms, feeling as though he were literally being held back by a physical force. He kept pulling against the control of his Alpha. He wasn't going on the strength of an imprint like Bella had been the other day when she broke Sam's command, and he felt his body losing the will to keep pushing.

"Jacob!" Sam's voice boomed. "I told you to stop!"

"No!" Jacob shouted, and with a final roar of rage he felt himself break away from Sam with a sudden jolt.

The force that had been holding him down so forcefully suddenly lifted, and Jacob flew forward at top speed. At first he stumbled, but kept running until he caught his balance. He quickly phased and took off deeper into the forest. He heard Sam's roar of rage and disbelief, and heard the Alpha phased right behind him. The weird part, was that he could no longer hear Sam's thoughts. All he heard and felt was silence, even when he heard Sam howl into the night and call the other awake wolves to phase.

Jacob just kept running, feeling that Sam was hot on his tail. Soon, the sound of the rest of the pack was right behind him. He couldn't believe that one moment he was only trying to do what was best for his sister, and now he was running away from the people he had once called family. He wondered if they were truly chasing him because they wanted to stop him, or if they were just following Sam's orders because they had too. He wished that he knew, because he couldn't hear their thoughts just like he could no longer hear Sam.

He knew now that his only safe place was over the border, which Sam wouldn't cross. He had to get across that border and he'd be free of their trail.

Someone snapped at his heels, and Jacob let loose a feral growl. He kicked back at their muzzle before he sped up, using all the strength he had to propel his body forward. He could almost feel himself getting closer to the treaty line. He was so close, and the rest of the pack was falling behind. He could hear the shape shifters chasing him get more desperate, trying in vain to catch up to him so that they could stop him from crossing.

Jacob broke through the tree line, and vaulted across the small trench, the wind whistling in his ears. He skidding against the ground of the other side, his breath coming out in puffs. His heart was racing, beating so loudly that he could hear it in his ears and feel it inside of his chest. He didn't hear anyone follow him over, so he slowly turned to look over her shoulder.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw the rest of his pack standing on the other side of the river. They were all looking at him, some of them looking a bit betrayed. Embry and Quil looked so confused as they paced the line of the treaty, whining over to him. At that moment Jacob was glad that he couldn't hear their thoughts, but he wished that Embry and Quil were over on his side. But, if the rest of them weren't going to help Bella then he couldn't dwell on it.

Jacob turned his back on his brothers, and began to make his way into the Fork's territory. He heard the wolves let our a sad chorus of howls behind him, but he didn't falter. He could smell the vampires all over this side of the river. It was so strong it almost made him want to throw up. He couldn't believe that Bella found their smell pleasing.

When Jacob broke through a small opening of trees, he found himself staring at several golden eyed vampires.

* * *

**Whew... Sorry this is so late, I've had a hectic time with a July party coming up.**

**I hope you guys liked it.**

**Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Harley: Here's another chapter guys!**

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

There was a tense silence lingering in the air.

Jacob knew that the Cullens wouldn't attack him unless he managed to provoke them somehow, but that also didn't mean that they were very aware that he was breaking the wolfs' half of the treaty. It probably seemed pretty damn unfair to them, but Jacob could've cared less at that moment. He had already taken the first few steps and had given up a lot just to get this far, he wouldn't let anything slow him down now that he was already working towards saving Bella.

Jacob slowly padded forward, trying to keeping himself from tensing up. He didn't want to seem tense, because he didn't want this to turn into a fight. He needed to speak with them, which was difficult considering that he would either have to borrow clothes or speak through the mind reader. He hadn't had a chance to take his clothing off before phasing, too desperate to get away from Sam and his orders as fast as he could. He doubted any of them would like this situation if he was naked.

"It's Jacob Black," The bronze haired mind reader said to his family. "He wants to talk to us."

Taking one glance at their disappointed faces, Jacob could tell that they had hoped that it had been Bella. They had probably heard the sounds of a wolf's giant steps and believed it was her, finally coming to see them. Jacob wished that it was her instead of him, but Bella would never come over the treaty line if he didn't get some help.

That mind-reader, Edward Cullen, seemed particularly nervous looking. It was odd to see a vampire so uncomposed, and Jacob had seen many in their moments before death and none had looked as nervous and freaked out as Edward did at that moment. It wasn't like he was here to kill the guy, even though he had imagined doing it many times before. Besides, he doubted that the vampire would look so nervous even if he _was_ coming here to kill him. Something was up.

_"I need clothes, leech,"_ Jacob sneered in his mind, replaying the event of running from Sam and phasing with his clothes still on.

The mind reader seemed to momentarily panic, then contemplate something. Jacob's eyes narrowed. If the mind reader didn't say his request out loud then he was would just phase behind a tree and talk to the Cullens like that. He wouldn't be censored, which is something Edward seemed to be wanting to do. There was something the leech didn't want his family to know, and it made Jacob suspicious.

"Jasper, could you loan him a pair of shorts to wear? He ripped his pair phasing and he wants to speak to all of us," Edward said finally, seeing Jacob about to turn and walk behind a tree.

He almost looked like a kid caught in a cookie jar at that moment. He looked so guilty on the outside that had Jacob wondering what he was hiding. He decided that he didn't care, because Edward wasn't his main priority at the moment. Maybe later Jacob would have time to slam him about leaving Bella so hurt, but now wasn't the time. No, his main focus was on the vampire who had reluctantly ran back into their house and back out in under a couple of seconds, a pair of shorts in his hand.

The blond, Jasper, suddenly reappeared and threw a pair of shorts at him, his face hard. "Keep them."

Jacob reached forward, gently taking the clothes into his jaws. He barely nipped the edge of them, careful to try and not shred them with his sharp teeth. He then turned around and went behind a tree to phase back. He allowed himself to phase back before pulling on the shorts. They didn't fit too well, but they fit a lot better then Edward's or the buff vampire's would have.

Jacob slowly moved out from behind the tree, feeling more uncomfortable facing the vampire's in a form that he wasn't as strong in. He was still flesh and bones, despite his furry secret. If this some how ended up in a fight he would have to phase quickly, but was sure that he could do this peacefully and that it wouldn't get violent.

"Jacob, you are aware that you are breaking your side of the treaty?" The male leader of their coven asked politely, inclining his head curiously.

Ugh, god. The last thing he enjoyed was a polite vampire. The wolf inside of him was howling, ready to tear them all apart. It was a natural instinct for the shape shifters to not want to be around vampires and to want to destroy them. It was an itch to kill that didn't go away until you scratched it. He had never noticed until now, but from the thoughts of Bella's that he got when patrolling with her, it was an instinct that she had never felt. She had killed the human-killers out of her own decision, not because she felt like she needed to like the rest of them did.

"Yeah, yeah," Jacob shrugged, "But right now there's something more important then Sam's stupid treaty. He refuses to help. Somehow I broke away from the pack, so technically I'm not breaking any rules because I'm not part of them."

The stuck-up looking, blonde vampire hissed at him through bared teeth. "That still doesn't give you a right to be on our land, dog."

"Rosalie," The leader chastised, before looking back at him. "Why did you leave the pack, Jacob?"

"I didn't mean to, really, it just happened because I broke through Sam's orders. But that doesn't matter, it's not what I'm here for," Jacob said, wanting to get off the subject of him. He didn't like talking about his personal stuff with these blood suckers, but he knew he'd have to maintain some level of civility or they would probably ask him to leave.

"What are you here for?" The leader questioned, seeming to try and keep the conversation going so that everything stayed nice and nonviolent.

"Bella," Jacob answered, and he knew that he instantly had their attention.

He glanced over at Edward with narrowed eyes. At the mention of the girl's name he had frozen as though suddenly placed underneath a spot light. He looked like he had just been caught, and Jacob didn't like it one bit. Something was going on with the mind reader, and it involved Bella. He didn't like that, considering that he had broken her heart. He didn't like that Bella was still tied to the Cullen at all. They had hurt her, and they were vampire's. But, one of them was her soul mate and no one could change that.

"What about her?" The pixie like vampire asked, bouncing a bit closer to him, her golden eyes sparkling.

"I wanted to talk about her imprinting," Jacob said slowly, noticing how Edward grew steadily more tense as the conversation went along.

The girl smiled, bouncing once and clapping her hands happily. "Oh, I'm so happy for her! I can't wait to see her again! I really hope this will help us all get to apologize to her. Maybe, after some times, things will be normal again. Edward and Bella will finally be together again and then our family will be complete."

The curly blond haired vampire that Bella had imprinted on scowled darkly when the girl had mentioned Edward and Bella together, at the same moment Jacob's eyebrows drew together in confusion. His eyes slid over to Edward, who now looked completely guilty and caught. Jacob couldn't understand how the girl had seemed so happy about the imprinting or why she thought it would bring Bella and _Edward_ together.

Realization washed over him, dawning upon his face before the anger set it.

"You are so _selfish_," He spat in Edward's direction, relishing in the flinch his rage caused.

Edward recovered quickly, steeling himself and looking Jacob right in the eyes with a stony glare in place. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Jacob felt his blood boiling at the vampire's stoic reply. He tried to calm himself, because he needed to explain. He needed to tell the rest of the family how mislead they were. He needed to tell them that Bella in no way was Edward's soul mate and she hadn't imprinted on him. He couldn't wait to spill the beans and watch Edward squirm. It was exactly what he deserved for breaking Bella's heart and then lying about her imprinting.

Edward's cool demeanor melted when he heard Jacob's vengeful thoughts. He tried to plead with his eyes, but Jacob held no sympathy for the vampire. He had dug his own grave and now he had to lie in. Oh, Jacob wished he could literally send him to his grave all right. But, in this case, getting the family's golden boy in trouble was the next best thing.

"Oh, really?" Jacob said, calming his facial expression down to a taunting smirk. "So you didn't lie about Bella?"

"Edward, son, what is he talking about?" Their little coven leader asked, looking slightly suspicious.

Jacob turned to the rest of the family. They looked confused, watching the match between Jacob and Edward as the two spoke of a subject they obviously had no knowledge of. It was obvious now how in the dark Edward had them, and how selfish the boy was. Jacob could almost feel for him, because of his past feelings for Bella, but at least he knew how to do things _for_ her.

"Jacob, don't," Edward said through his teeth, his eyes the darkest shade of ebony that Jacob had ever gazed into.

"Or, what?" Jacob sneered. "Someone has to do what's right for Bella. Bella won't, Sam won't, and you won't. You going to try and stop me some how, leech? They deserve to know. _He_ deserves to know."

Edward shook his head. "Things can change. I can make her happy, I know that I can."

"For us wolves, it doesn't work that way," Jacob spat, "When a wolf imprints, there is no one else. No other can ever compare to their soul mate, no matter what. I've seen it. I've seen it in Sam, Quil, and Jared. They would die if they ever had to be apart from their imprints, just like how Bella is dying right now."

Edward bowed his head, his face twisted in pain. Jacob could see that in his own twisted mind, Edward loved Bella. But he wasn't her soul mate or her other half. They simply were not meant to be, and he had no right to try and keep her from her imprint when she was doing a pretty good job of doing that all on her own. Edward needed to step aside, take responsibly, and if he really loved Bella he would be helping Jacob.

"What is going on?" the blonde female suddenly snapped, looking fed up with the confusing conversation.

Jacob looked at the rest of the family, and this time Edward didn't try to stop him. The shape shifter took a nice, long, few seconds to relish in the look of defeat on Edward's face. He may not ever get the chance of beating him in having Bella, but it was still nice to one-up someone who he may have considered his rival in an different situation.

"Bella didn't imprint on your little golden child," Jacob said, his face twisting slightly.

The family shifted their gaze to Edward, who wouldn't look any of them in the eyes. The forever-teenage boy stared off to the side, his face looking conflicted. He looked defeated, yet still longing to win. However, he wouldn't be able to save himself from this.

"Edward, is that true?" The brown haired woman asked, her face looking disappointed.

Edward stood still, before shaking his head. "No, no she didn't. Bella didn't imprint on me."

The two "parents" of the family looked torn between scolding him for lying or feeling sorry for him. Obviously he had tricked the whole family and could have potentially caused a lot of problems for Bella, but he also lost the love of his life because she was never meant to be with him. He had been desperate, and had made a mistake.

The pixie-like vampire looked crestfallen, the large buff one mirroring her expression. The blonde looked angry for being deceived by her brother, but otherwise indifferent. However, Bella's true other half looked just as triumphant as Jacob felt. Jacob knew that had probably been grating on the vampire's nerves. Even if he didn't know Bella had imprinted on him and that they were meant to be together, her imprinting on him would've connected them together on a deep, emotional level. Every mention or thought of her in the arms of someone else would make him burn green with jealousy, probably confusing him beyond compare.

"But," Jacob interrupted before anyone could speak again, "that doesn't mean that Bella didn't imprint."

They turned back to him, looking a bit suspicious.

"What do you mean that she still imprinted?" The pixie demanded, and Jacob almost wanted to make fun of her for acting so high a mighty when she was middle-schooler sized.

"She imprinted, just not on Edward," Jacob explained. "She imprinted on him."

He nodded his head towards the curly haired blonde, and he watched as they all registered what he'd said. Everyone froze, total shock covering their faces. The vampire had frozen completely, and was staring at Jacob with calculating eyes. Jacob felt like he was being analyzed, like the man was checking every inch of him for any single hint of a lie. It was almost intimidating...

Edward looked like he'd rather be under a rock very far away. His eyes had somehow gotten even darker then they had before, and the expression would've been labelled as someone who had to throw up if they had been human. The pixie vampire, the wife of Bella's imprint, had wide eyes, and was looking about as though she were searching for something the rest of them couldn't see. She almost looked a bit betrayed, but she seemed to understand that it wasn't the fault of either parties. It didn't stop her from looking upset, however. She looked torn.

"That's impossible. Jasper and Alice are mates," The blonde vampire spat at him.

Jacob scoffed. "Calm yourself, blondie. Imprinting doesn't lie. It brings you to your soul mate, your other half, no matter what's in the way. I've seen inside of Sam's head. Imprinting can and will tear apart current relationships as long as it means that the two other halves finally meet, and become one. Sam had imprinted on the 'love of his life's' cousin. It doesn't matter what current situation you're in, or apparently what species you are."

There was a small silence, and Jacob took a moment to try and smell something other then their nasty vampire stench. To Bella they smelt absolutely delicious, and he guessed that her imprinting explained that. Her soul mate was a vampire, so it was natural that he and his species would smell absolutely amazing to her.

He looked around slowly, looking at all the green. He, like Bella, enjoyed being a wolf because he was able to go out into the woods like this and enjoy picturesque nature that many people didn't get the joy of seeing in their entire lifetime. He would enjoy it a million times more if the Cullens weren't here, he was on his side of the treaty, and the current situation at hand didn't exist.

"So, if Bella did imprint on Jasper," The coven leader said carefully, knowing he was treading on fragile territory, "Why is she not here?"

Jacob let his gaze drop to the forest floor. He almost didn't want to admit to them that Bella had been weakened by them once more. He knew Bella had been priding herself on becoming stronger after they left, but now she was even worse then before. She had been so happy that she had been moving on. Everyone had been happy for her. They had a sister who was able to over come her past and enjoy life. Now, she was merely a shell.

Edward flinched at Jacob's thoughts, seeing and feeling just what Jacob had felt coming from Bella. Every time she had phased, the whole pack felt the effect of her rejecting the imprint. They could feel the utter horrific pain she was experiencing because of it. They could feel the burn and tearing she felt inside her chest, and would wonder how she could make it through the day. Lots of time they wondered how she was still living. The pain was so intense, that no being would even want to be living after having to experience it every second of the day.

"Bella is dying," Jacob finally said, finding a way to start.

"Why?" The blonde, Jasper, cut in quickly. His eyes were narrowed, and Jacob knew that he was probably now more in tune with the feelings he had to have been dealing with. He cared. There was no way for him not to because Bella was his other half, no matter what.

"Bella is rejecting the imprint," He admitted.

A look of hurt crossed Jasper's eyes, so quick that Jacob couldn't have been completely sure that it was there.

"It's not because of you, really," Jacob continued, hating that he was actually trying to comfort a leech, his enemy. "It's not because she has any problem with you, it's the situation entirely. She thinks that you Cullens want absolutely nothing to do with her and that you never cared for her, because of how you left her. She was getting over you guys. For a while she was really happy. Then, you come back and she imprints on the brother of her ex. You are already mated, and have a family.

"She feels like you hate her, and don't want her. She doesn't want to hurt you. She won't come to see her imprint or try to be with him because she doesn't want to hurt any of you, even though you hurt her. She doesn't want to take you from the one you love, she refuses. She thinks that she will only ruin your lives, and she won't let herself hurt you or her imprint that way.

"She's letting herself die. When a wolf rejects their imprint, the body begins to go through extreme pain. A wolf isn't meant to do anything like that. They're supposed to go and be at the side of their imprint, because they always need and want to know if they're safe and happy. Because she isn't allowing herself to do that, she feels like she's being ripped apart on the inside every single day of her life. Everyone in the pack has felt it, but no one else has tried to do anything. It's obvious that Bella won't come over here, so I decided to do it instead."

The Cullens seemed to grow more upset with each word he spoke. They were all now in a conflicting situation, and Jacob was glad that he wasn't the only one anymore. They truly seemed to want to help Bella, but didn't know what to do. It would truly all depend on Jasper, because he was the imprintee. Jacob hoped that he would make the right choice, because he couldn't stand to watch Bella wither away any longer. If the Cullens truly cared about her they would try to help.

Everyone was now looking at the man, who looked utterly conflicted. He seemed to be fighting a rough internal battle with himself. He looked at his wife, who was staring at the ground. She looked like she herself was sorting through a few things, trying to come to terms with the weight that had just been placed on all of their shoulders. She sighed lightly for a moment, before slowly looking up at him. She walked over to him slowly, placing a delicate, pale hand onto his arm.

"We need to get this fixed up, Jas," She said softly, her eyes looking more watery with each passing second, "We need to help Bella. We all hurt her, and she still doesn't want to hurt us... We need to get her over here to talk to her. We can't just let her die."

Jasper stared into her eyes for the longest time, looking torn. Jacob knew he felt the pull of the imprint, probably more so now that he was aware of it. He had a wife who he seemed to love, but looked to be doubting his feelings at that moment because the pull towards Bella was very strong. In a way, Jacob felt bad for the man, but he was more concerned about Bella then he was for the vampire.

"Yes," He finally agreed, nodding.

Jacob paused. "But, now, there's another problem."

"What would that be?" Their leader inquired, almost looking as though he couldn't believe that there was more bad news.

"Bella obviously won't get up and come on her own free will. I'm probably not allowed back on the Res after betraying the pack. I don't know how we're going to get Bella over here if none of us are capable of getting over the treaty line. The pack can and will tear you apart if they catch you. Even if we do somehow get Bella to agree to come over here, the pack will stop her because Sam doesn't want her to aknowledge her imprint, either. From here, I don't know where to go, but we have to get Bella," Jacob explained.

He felt a bit stupid after that. His big plan to come over and talk to the Cullens, and he hadn't of thought of dragging Bella, kicking and screaming or not, over with him. Now, she was probably going to be under the surveillance of the rest of the wolves. Even if he did some how get ahold of her, she wouldn't come willingly. If she magically some how did agree, the rest of the wolves would hold her back. She was the fastest, but she would need an opportunity and in her current state she wouldn't take one even if it arrived.

"They can't hold her there against her will if she chooses to come here!" The blonde female spat, anger flashing in her eyes.

Jacob laughed bitterly. "Actually, they can. The elders are law, and so is Sam. Sam still has yet to tell the elders about Bella imprinting on a vampire, and Sam himself is against it. If the elders decide they don't like it, Sam can keep Bella pinned under his thumb with the Alpha commands. She only broke them once out of pure chance, probably because it was right after her imprinting. I doubt that she could ever do it again. The only reason I could ever break out of his control was because I was meant to be Alpha, but I had let him be Alpha instead."

"Won't any of the other wolves help?" The motherly Cullen inquired, now looking concerned for Bella's safety.

Jacob shrugged. "We'd have to be really sneaky if some of them would, because wolves can read each others thoughts when they phase. Embry and Quil would probably help us if I convinced them. Jared and Paul are too close to Sam. They were close to Bella, too, being part of the first few wolves to phase together, but Alpha always comes first."

Jacob saw the anger. He never expected such a composed family to show a lot of emotion, especially in front of him, their enemy. They are angry at the thought of the other wolves keeping Bella under tight control. He also hadn't expected them to care so much about Bella. He wondered how they had been capable of breaking her so badly when they clearly cared about her, even when they found out that she'd phased.

"Would you be willing to do that for us, Jacob? Call your friends and see if they can get Bella to us?" the leader asked finally, looking at him with an expression he could only describe as hopeful.

Jacob took a small breath. Maybe this was what he had expected once Sam had sent the pack after him. A big confrontation that could very well shatter the treaty. But this pact didn't mean a damn thing to Jacob. Bella meant something, however, and if she wasn't willing to try and save herself then he would. She could go ahead and try to give up eternal happiness and live a life of internal suffering, but there were many people who wouldn't let it happen. They would help her.

"No," Jacob said, making them look at him, startled. "But I'd be willing to do it for Bella."

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**Tada! It's a bit shorter but there's some good chapters coming up soon! **

**I hope that you guy enjoyed this update.**

**Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello, everyone. I'm sorry about the large break. I started school again and I needed to get everything in my life together. Not a real excuse, I know, but I just want you all to know that my updates will be a little spread out. I'm trying to get back into writing again so hopefully this will all turn out.**

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Chapter 10

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I was a prisoner.

I don't know how or why it happened, but suddenly the home I come to know and love was now my cell. I was trapped inside the place that used to comfort me. I was trapped inside with only my thoughts and aching heart for company, and it was hurting me so much worse then it had before. The only thing I had to distract me were the few things I had in the house, because I was no longer allowed to leave it. I tried asking Emily why, but all she did was give me a sad look and shake her head as though she were disappointed in herself.

Sam had come home one night in a complete rage, and that was the night he had taken everything away from me. He had locked me in my room, and I was too scared of my Alpha's rage to do anything. I heard Emily convince him to let me out the next morning, but not before he called my school and demanded they start sending my homework home like they had before I was in control. Sam bluntly told me that I was not allowed to phase and under no circumstances allowed to ask him why. The Alpha command weighed heavy, and no matter how much I wanted to run through the forests and clear my head, I would never be able too without Sam's consent.

The man I had once saw as a fatherly figure had suddenly become my warden.

Sam tried to pretend everything was normal after that, that he wasn't keeping me held up in the house like a captive. The rest of the pack looked uncomfortable every time they came over now, and it felt like I could no longer talk to them because they didn't help me. No one ever spoke about my predicament, no one spoke to Sam. They, too, pretended things were normal. I felt hurt, but I couldn't linger on it too long. I felt enough of that with my imprint, I couldn't let their betrayal hit me too hard.

I noticed something. Jacob never came over anymore. I asked about it persistently, wondering where one of my best friends was when I needed him the most, but after one quick command from Sam I couldn't ask any more. I felt utterly restricted, and not in a normal way. Most people would be scared into silence. I wasn't scared of disobeying Sam, I just couldn't do it because of the Alpha commands. That just ended up making me more angry and hurt about everything.

_'Why is Sam doing this to me? What did I do wrong?' _I asked myself this every day, but I stopped asking questions in fear he would end up taking away my rights to even speak.

It seemed like Sam was trying to keep everything seeming normal, but he wasn't fooling anyone. Nothing was normal, and everyone knew it. I had imprinted on a vampire, Jacob was gone, Sam had gone power crazy, and being pack siblings no longer had a special meaning. I couldn't help but feel that if I had never imprinted, none of this would've happened.

But I could never regret my imprint. As destructive to my life as it had been, it had also been one of the most beautiful things that ever happened to me. It took a while for me to realize this. Even though I would never have my imprint, it still meant so much to me that it had happened. Even though it felt like my chest was being ripped into shreds, I could never see it as anything but the best thing in the world. My imprint was happy without me, and I was coming to terms with it. It didn't stop the pain, but it made it worth enduring. If he was happy, as long as he was happy, the pain wouldn't mean a thing to me. All that mattered was his happiness. I would gladly rot inside Sam's house, feeling that pain every second, if it meant that Jasper was living a happy life.

For a week, I stayed inside Sam's house. I was aching for the forest and fresh air almost as much as I was aching for my imprint. I felt like I was withering away worse then before, needing to go outside. The wolf inside of me was constantly irritated. It wanted out, it wanted to run, and it wanted to see it's imprint. I wished I could do all three, but I knew that the last one would never be allowed.

Over that time, our little pack had increased by two. Leah Clearwater had phased, and had caused her father to go into cardiac arrest. The death of Harry caused her younger brother, Seth, to also phase. I never got to see them, however, as Sam seemed to be shielding them from me completely. All I knew was that I felt absolutely horrible for Leah. She was now stuck with Sam inside of her head, stuck hearing his love for Emily. She had to be suffering, just like me. The other pack complained about how bitchy and bitter she was when she wasn't around, but all I felt was that she had all the reasons in the world to be. She was entitled to the rights of being bitter and bitchy after all that had happened to her.

The pack liked Seth, however, even though he was the youngest to phase yet. They said that he was funny and optimistic. I wished that I could meet him.

Embry and Quil tried to cheer me up, but they knew that this was beyond their control. There was nothing that they could do, but they still tried. I loved them for it, because I craved company more then I had ever before. Sam usually snapped at them after a while, though, telling them to go on patrol despite whoever else may have been doing it at the time.

I had come to the conclusion that it wasn't the pack who was separating from me, it was Sam taking them from me. He seemed scared that they would tell me something, and I had the biggest feeling that it had something to do with Jacob. I tried to wiggle it out of them a few times, but it seemed that Sam had placed Alpha orders down once again. Some how, he was still paranoid even though he knew that Alpha commands were a strict law that we had no choice but to follow.

One day, Sam and Emily had decided to go on a small date in a restaurant in La Push. Emily had wanted to go to Port Angeles, but Sam had swayed her into something closer. I knew it was only because he was paranoid about leaving me alone in the house. Sam had never once used an Alpha command to tell me that I couldn't leave, but he might as well have. I was too scared to ever even try of going outside, because he had always had one of the wolves on guard incase I did. He had ordered Embry and Paul to stay in the house and watch me. Well, actually, they had volunteered.

They had been sitting down stairs, playing video games on Sam's television. I heard Embry's cell phone ring in his pocket, but instead of answering it he seemed to start typing on his key board. I assumed it was just a text, and curled back up into a ball under my comforter. I had used my homework as a distraction that morning, so I no longer had anything to do but stare up at my ceiling and count the panels of wood. I lost count every time.

Suddenly, I heard Paul and Embry stand up together. They both began walking up the stairs, making me sit up in confusion.

The door opened, and the two moved in slowly. Paul was looking angry, tense. Embry crouched next to me and leaned in. "Bella, we're going to get you out of here, but you have to do everything we say so that we can get you around Sam's Alpha commands," he whispered, looking me in the eyes to make sure I understood.

"Didn't Sam tell you to keep me here?" I whispered back, confused.

Embry grinned, before replied back in a hushed tone. "No, actually, he just told Paul and I to keep watch on you. Stupid, huh?"

I couldn't help but smile, a choked laugh coming out of my throat. It sounded more like a dying animal as it mixed together with a sob of happiness. I couldn't believe that I would finally be able to go outside. It was dark out, but anything outdoors was fine with me. I didn't know why Embry, and Paul of all people, were trying to help me against the Alpha but I was eternally grateful for it. They were risking a lot for me, and I would never be able to pay them back enough.

Embry took my hand pulling me out of bed and leading my out of the room. Paul was following close behind, and both seemed to be listening. I didn't understand why, but it must have had something to do with Sam's security kick. He must've asked other wolves to patrol a bit closer to the house, which just furthered my suspicions of Sam's paranoia.

We made it down the stairs quietly, and towards the front door. Embry fished the keys to his truck out of the bowl next to the front door. He made a face as the door creaked when it opened, but managed to silence it by putting his fist around the coil at the top. Paul and I slid out, quickly followed by him.

My first image of the great outdoors in a week was a blessed image of the night sky, filled to the brim with luminescent stars and surrounded by the dark leaves on the tree tops above. The wolf inside of me howled triumphantly, begging to be let out even though I couldn't under Sam's command. Just being outside was a big release of energy, and I managed to feel happy even with the constant pain in my chest. It had been the happiest I had been in the longest time.

I was squished between Paul and Embry in the cab, but I didn't care. They were getting me out, and even though I had no idea where we were going or what I would do afterwards, I was happy. I wanted out of that place. Sam was no longer the man I had thought that he was, and he was suffocating me under piles of Alpha commands that my body was forced to obey. It had been making me feel like I wasn't even my own person, like I hadn't even been in control of myself. But, there, in the truck with Paul and Embry, I felt like the freest wolf in the world.

Embry started his truck, and then waited listening for a few tense moment. He breathed a sigh of relief too quickly, because the second he did there was a familiar, haunting wolf howl coming from the forest. I felt a bolt of panic go through me, and Paul snapped at Embry to go. Embry backed out of the drive, before peeling down the streets. I was clutching Paul's arm, which he just allowed me to do once he saw the panicked expression on my face.

"Why is Sam doing this?" I whispered, hearing several other wolf howl follow shortly after the first alarm.

Embry's face tightened. "He didn't want this to happen, what is happening right now. He didn't want us to turn on him and try and get you out of here. Jacob hasn't been around because he broke out of Sam's control so that he could go to the Cullens."

My heart skipped a beat at the mention of my imprint's family. "Why would he do something like that?"

"For you," Paul said, his eyes darting around him as the sound of the wolves running got closer and closer. "We all knew that you would never go see your imprint. Jacob was the only one of us who actually did the right thing. Jacob tried to talk Sam into letting the Cullens come over here or some how getting you over there, but Sam completely snapped. So, Jacob left."

Paul sounded very bitter at that, and actually looked ashamed of himself. It was surprising to see the most uncaring and temperamental wolf of the pack that way. It was even more shocking for me to learn that Jacob had broken away from the pack for me. He went to speak to my imprint for me, which made me angry yet happy at the same time.

"That's where you're taking me now, isn't it?" I asked quietly, feeling a supernatural tremor run down my spine.

Embry nodded, his eyes darting off the road to look at the woods on either side of us. The wolves had caught up to us, and we now running equal speed as Embry's truck. The old thing couldn't speed very well, and he was pushing it to its limits. Forks was still a ways a way, but the treaty line wasn't.

"I can't!" I snapped, "I can't do that to him! I won't ruin his life!"  
"Bella!" Embry snapped back. "He wants to see you! Jasper wants to see you. All of the Cullens do. Jacob told them about the imprint and they want to try and settle everything. Your imprint wants you, Bella. And right now, in this situation, he may very well be in danger because of Sam. Sam's gone crazy, Bella. You know it more then the rest of us. Don't let him lock you up again, because if he gets the chance there is no questioning that after this he will command you to stay in that house. Sam does not want you to see Jasper, Bella. He might try and hurt him and the rest of the Cullens after this. Even though no one on their side has broken the treaty, Sam's reaching his limit."

My heart pounded inside of my chest. All that I heard out of Embry's words was that Jasper wanted to see me, and that he was in trouble. Sam might try to hurt him. Sam would try to hurt my imprint and the people he cares about. Jasper, who wanted to see me and wanted to talk to me, could get hurt by Sam. I wanted Jasper. I needed to see him. I needed to protect him.

I snarled viciously as the pain in my chest released, and Embry slammed on the breaks as wolves suddenly breached the trees in front of us. I threw my hands out to the dash to stop me from smacking my head into it, feeling tremors running through my body. All I felt was rage, anger. I wanted to tear Sam to bits for even thinking about hurting my imprint. I wanted to hurt him for everything he had done to us all, what he may still be doing to the other wolves. Controlling us that way was wrong.

The three of us slowly got out of the truck. I instantly spotted the two new ones of the pack, a small sandy wolf and a feminine looking gray wolf. They were following the example of the rest of the pack, snarling and tense, but they didn't look as sure as the rest of them did. It almost hurt me to see Quil on their side, but I understood why. Claire was Emily's niece. If Quil went against Sam he would be taken from Claire, and I would never ask him to go through the pain I did.

"Let us through," I said suddenly, making Sam look at me instead of at Embry and Paul.

Sam's eyes narrowed, and he released a long, low growl of defiance.

My body began to shake, and I felt myself pulling against the command Sam had placed when he had once told me to not phase unless he told me to. My body began to shake violently, and I felt myself on the verge of phasing but still being held back by the command. I closed my eyes, and thought of Jasper. I thought of how Embry said he wanted to see me, about how Sam could very possibly be threatening him. He was threatening my imprint.

My eyes opened, and I snarled. I ran forward, before rejoicing in the feeling of my body bursting. I fell onto all fours, and the wolf inside of me howled in victory as it was finally released from its chains. Paul and Embry quickly joined me, and followed me quickly when they saw me take off into the woods. The rest of the wolves were following just as quickly, but I was pushing their thoughts away. I heard Embry screaming loudly in his head, trying to block Sam from giving any orders. If it had been any other situation, I would've found it humorous. Now, I was only thankful for Embry's quick idea.

I could feel the pressure of the treaty line grow closer and closer, and I could feel myself getting closer to my imprint.

Someone tackled into me from the side, and I instantly started fighting back. It was Jared, attempting to pin me down. I scratched and clawed at his chest, biting into his legs and any other part of him I could reach. Paul came barreling into him at top speed, growling angrily. It was heart breaking to watch the two friends fight, but I could hear Paul's yelling for me to keep running over Embry's constant mind scream. I could hear bits of Sam and the rest of the pack, but I tuned them out the best I could and focused on Embry's deafening scream.

I broke through the trees and jumped across the river, feeling Embry and Paul jump shortly after. Something happened the second out feet touched the other side, almost like a rubberband snapping inside of our heads. It went silent beyond Embry's screaming, so he stopped. There was nothing but silence, even though I could tell by Sam's snarls and pacing that he was speaking to us. We couldn't hear him any more. We couldn't hear any of them.

_"Well, that's weird,"_ Embry said simply, huffing softly as he tried to catch his breath.

Paul snorted. _"No shit."_

I turned my back on Sam and began to head towards the Cullen house, feeling Embry and Paul follow shortly after me. I could smell them all over the place, their smell pleasant to me but utterly repulsive to my two companions. I ignored their thoughts on the smell, however, when I found Jasper's smell. It was such a homey smell, like apples and cinnamon, with a hint of freshly fallen rain. It was such a pleasant smell, and it made my heart warm up when I smelled it.

I grew steadily more nervous and doubtful as we got closer. I could hear them, waiting for us. I could also smell Jacob with them, which made me wag my tail. I still didn't know whether to punch him or hug him when I first saw him. Punch him for going behind my back, or hug him for doing that for me when I wouldn't have.

When we broke through the tree line, the first thing I saw was Jasper. His golden eyes locked with mine, and my inside warmed to the point of mush. I almost got lost in those eyes, seeing the whole world inside of them. I almost felt like I was imprinting on him all over again with the way my heart was drumming inside of my chest. When I saw Alice at his side, however, my feelings dropped.

Jacob walked to us once we were close enough. He looked at me. "Bella, I-"

I huffed, bumping my head into his chest. He stumbled back, but grinned. He understood that I was thanking him and not angry. It wasn't worth being angry with him when he had done something so great for me. He had not only gotten my imprint to agree to talk to me, but had helped save me from Sam's control.

"We had clothing for all of you to change in to, if you'd like," Carlisle said suddenly.

I was reminded that the rest of the Cullens were here also, and felt a pang of pain go through me heart. It was hard to do it when there were so many factors against me. The Cullens had left, they didn't want me. Why were they going through with this after all the trouble they had went through to get rid of me? Did they pity me? Would it only end up with more heart break in the end.

Alice danced forward, clothing in her arms. She gave both Embry and Paul a pair of shorts, before coming towards me with a whole set of clothes. A pair of jean shorts, a green tank top, and under garments. I couldn't carry them all in my mouth without ripping them any, and she seemed to understand that so she followed me behind a tree and placed them onto the ground for me. She gave me a small, undistinguishable look before walking back to her family.

I willed myself to phase back, before slipping on the clothes. I was so nervous, my heart was pounding in my chest. It was better then the pain of not being with my imprint, I concluded, but that didn't make it anymore enjoyable. Everything had been happening so fast, I didn't know what to think any longer. Sam had gone more then power hungry, throwing alpha commands. I was about to speak with the Cullens who hadn't even left me with so much as a "good-bye", aside from Edward's revelation of exactly what I had been to his family.

Slowly, I emerged from around the trees. Embry and Paul had clothed much faster then I had, but then again, they hadn't been stalling like I had been. I was so nervous that I was shaking, and I didn't know how to stop it.

"Bella, sweetie, it's okay," Esme said softly, looking at me through warm, caramel eyes.

I frowned, confused. Why was she consoling me? Why was she looking at me like she had before she and the rest of the Cullens had left? She had left me behind. She had used me as a distraction just as the rest of the Cullens had. I had been her little pretend daughter, though convinced that she actually did care for me as though I were her daughter. It had been a nice feeling, having a mother who wanted to care for you instead of the other way around. I had always had to take care of Renee and do what was best for her. Esme's love had opened up a different door for me, allowing me to have a taste of what it was like to have a real mom. Then, she left. Just like the rest of them.

"No," I whispered, "No, it's not."

Jacob placed his arm around me, trying to comfort me as we neared the Cullens more. Paul and Embry stood next to us, both looking a bit more uncomfortable outside of their wolf form.

"So, have you been living with these guys?" Paul asked suddenly, his face scrunching up slightly.

"Nah, I've been staying with Bella's dad, Charlie," Jacob replied, stopping us in front of the Cullens.

I looked up at the Cullens, ignoring my brothers. They all met my eyes evenly, which was surprising. I didn't want to see the emotions in their eyes. I was afraid of feeling hurt again. I didn't feel much pain about Edward anymore, not since I found Jasper as my imprint. But that didn't change the fact that the rest of them had called me their family and then left me alone. But, I supposed that one good thing came of it. If they hadn't left, I wouldn't have phased, and therefor I would've never been able to imprint on Jasper.

"Bella," Edward said suddenly.

I tore my eyes from the rest of the Cullens, looking at him. For a moment, I remembered all the moments we had together. The fake love we shared. But it didn't matter anymore. Edward had more then proved that what I had meant to him in reality, and I no longer held feelings for him. He had hurt me, and he wasn't my soul mate.

"I wanted to apologize, for the things I said back in the woods," Edward said slowly, his golden eyes piercing mine. "I wanted to clear that, because they were lies. Everything I said was a lie. No one here felt that way at all, I made it all up so that you would let go. I'm sorry, Bella."

Alice turned on her brother. "What do you mean? What did you tell her, Edward?!"

Edward's eyes dropped to the floor. I felt a tremor run through me, a spark of anger igniting in my belly. Edward had lied. His family hadn't used me as a distraction. But that still didn't make up for why they left at all, why they didn't even say good bye. But the fact that Edward had manipulated me into thinking that I had been nothing but a simple distraction started a deep anger. I was growling, my shoulders heaving as I attempted to get over the anger.

A sudden veil of calm slid across my shaking shoulders, caressing my anger and soothing it.

My eyes snapped instantly snapped towards the owner of the power, and got caught in Jasper's golden gaze. A switch inside of me was suddenly flipped, and I stopped shaking almost instantly. I stared into the eyes of my imprint. Just knowing that he wanted me calm had me passive once again, and I no longer felt like I was teetering on the edge of letting out my inner wolf.

Snapping out of my stupor, I looked towards the ground. He was still Alice's. Not mine. Never mine.

"Bella," Carlisle said slowly.

I looked back up, connecting eyes with the man I had once believed cared for me as a daughter. It was hard to keep looking into his eyes, remembering all the times he had stitched me up or had told me that I was part of his coven; his family. It hurt a bit, stung a bit. I had no right to feel jealous, but I did. He had picked Edward over me. If he had truly considered me his daughter then he never would've made the choice to leave me behind.

"I wanted to tell you how sorry our family is about leaving you. We shouldn't have done so. It hurt all of us in the end," The patriarch said, offering me a smile that only seemed to make everything hurt worse.

I didn't know how to reply. I wanted to yell at them all and let them know just how much I had hurt because of them. I wanted them to know that the only reason I had gotten over them was because I had had the pack at my side, and without them I probably wouldn't have been able to get over their leaving as well. I didn't want to be the bigger person in this situation. For once, I wanted to tell someone how bad they had hurt me and let them feel guilty about it. I didn't want to feel bad about that, either.

I was tired of being the weak one. I was tired of letting people walk over me and then forgive them for it. But there had always been that little part of me that missed the Cullens so much that it hurt, and it wouldn't go away no matter how hard I tried. Because, whether I liked it or not, it seemed I would always some how be tied to them.

"You hurt me more than you can ever imagine," I whispered finally, unable to look them in the eyes as I felt tears fighting to escape. "I lost the people I had considered my family in just a few minutes. All the memories and all the promises meant absolutely nothing."

"Oh, Bella," Esme whispered. "We never meant to hurt you so much. We all thought it was best for you. After the incident at your party-"

"I never blamed any of you for that!" I said suddenly, looking at all of them. My eyes landed on Jasper last, and I continued to speak. "I didn't care about any of that. I knew that danger when I decided I wanted you all to be my family. My birthday was an accident and I never once blamed any of you, because I can't blame you for who you are. You can't help it.

"Especially you, Jasper. I never blamed you, before the imprint and after. You're a lot stronger then you give yourself credit for. You managed to switch diets, which is a feat in itself. On top of that, you're not only feeling your bloodlust but all of your family's. You deal with all of that and still walk through a high school and sit in class with a bunch of humans. That's pretty impressive if you ask me."

Paul snorted next to me, and I reached back and smacked him on the arm.

There were so many words I had built up inside. So many things I wanted to say. The fact that I still cared for the Cullens, but knew that I could no longer trust them to not hurt me again. But, I was done. I would not let myself be walked over again, not by them or by Sam. I wanted to be just myself, just Bella. I would not lose sight of that again.

As long as I could be around to protect Jasper and connect to my imprint on some level, I knew that I could keep holding on.

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**Sorry, cliff hanger! I'll get the next chapter as soon as I can!**

**I hope you enjoyed Bella's escape from Sam!**

**Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Harley: You guys deserved a quick update after suck a long wait, so I edited this chapter quick and uploaded. Next one should come around next weekend sometime.**

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Chapter 11

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"Bella, we do love you," Esme gasped out through a shaky sob, her caramel eyes shining with venom tears that she would never be able to cry. "We left to keep you safe! We didn't want to leave you, but it was safer for you if we weren't around!"

My brows furrowed. I felt like I was being torn in two once again. A part of me wanted to believe them and forgive them for leaving, but I couldn't just let them back in so easily. I couldn't trust them to not leave me alone again, and if they left this time it would factor in a much larger blow with Jasper as my imprint. If they were only playing with me and decided to leave once more, I would not be able to recover from the hurt and pain that would no doubt come along with it.

Esme and Carlisle had once been my parents. It had been so nice to have two parents who actually wanted to take care of me, no the other way around. I spent most of my life tying Renee down so that she didn't float right off the planet and get herself hurt with all of her shaky ideas. I had taken care of her since I had been a child. I never truly took care of Charlie the same way I did Renee, but the relationship we had was very rocky. He was my father, but he had missed a lot of my life. Unwillingly, yes, but it made us almost like strangers. He didn't know me well, and we had both been too awkward to get to know each other as father and daughter. That, and he had been hiding a big family secret from me that would've been very nice to know.

Emmett and Alice had been the ones I could always laugh with. Even though Edward had never been too keen on letting me get too close with Emmett, Jasper, or Rosalie, I had always been able to consider Emmett like a brother. He was a lovable goofball who I had loved like family, but he, too, had followed Edward's will and left. Alice had also danced to his tune, something I had never completely seen her do. She had always been so confident of herself and what she did, and she had been the one who had told Edward about me and how we would end up together even when he had been refusing me.

I wished that I still had the rest of the pack with me. I missed the days of all of us, when we would all work together as a team and a family. But I couldn't dwell on that too much. I could never forgive Sam for the monster he had suddenly become, even if he did change. He had been someone I had cherished and thought would accept me the most, but when I imprinted he went power crazy and started holding down the whole pack with his Alpha commands. I felt bad for the rest of the pack, who were still tied to him either by force or by imprints.

Jacob squeezed my shoulder once to bring me out of my deep thoughts.

I blinked a couple times, before looking at the Cullens slowly. They were watching me back. When my eyes caught Jasper's, my heart felt complete. I shook myself out of that before I got caught in the emotions too much, but I could tell by the slightly shocked look on Jasper's face that he, too, had felt the sudden rush of warmth I had felt for him. It made me feel embarrassed, considering he was still with Alice. Nothing worse then getting caught with your feelings for a mated man.

"We didn't really come here to talk about that stuff, did we?" I whispered.

I wanted out of this sudden hole we had all just dug. I hadn't come here to discuss how much the Cullens hurt me. No matter how much I wanted to scream and yell at them, it wasn't me and it wasn't my main priority at that time. I had come to see what my imprint wanted of me. I couldn't let all of this get in the way of that, because no matter what he came first.

They looked a bit sullen to be pushed off like that, but I couldn't stand talking about it with them. I couldn't stand to watch Carlisle and Esme look at me like they cared, when they had hurt me. I couldn't stand to see Emmett and Alice look so hopeful, when they hadn't even come to say good bye. Rosalie, surprisingly, was looking at me through narrowed eyes. She wasn't indifferent as normal, and when our eyes connected she looked as though she was searching for something. She seemed to find it within the depths of my eyes, because she nodded to me a second after.

My eyes slowly slid and connected with Jasper's. My heart warmed up once more at the sight of him, but I pushed it down. I couldn't allow myself to love him, and it certainly wasn't fair for me to not feel the same towards him as I did the rest of the Cullens. Sure, he and I had never been close due to Edward. I didn't blame him and Rosalie as much as I did the rest of them. Rosalie had never taken the chance to fool me into believing that she had cared, and Edward has always kept me shielded from Jasper.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked slowly, cautiously.

"Yes, I did. Walk with me?" He asked politely, and even offered me his hand.

My heart was pounding inside of my chest frantically. I wanted so badly to take his hand, feel his cool, smooth skin again my own. I already knew the pleasant feeling that came when a shape shifters hot body was touched by cool skin, and I knew it would feel ten times better coming from the hands of my imprint. But, I took one look at Alice and knew that I couldn't take it. I couldn't take the hand and allow myself the selfish pleasure of feeling his skin, when it would only leave me broken and wanting more after he rejected me.

Instead, I simply stepped forward to follow him. Something in his eyes shifted, but he turned and began to walk towards the forest edge. I followed him without a second thought, feeling the eyes of the Cullens and my pack beating against my back.

Trusting Jasper was something difficult to figure out. As he was my imprint, I was compelled to trust him on some level. However, as a wolf I had it drilled into my head that vampires were not to be trusted. Even though I knew vampires aren't so black and white like the other shapeshifters believed, being attacked by red eyes and abandoned by golden tended to intensify that notion. Combine all that and apply it to Jasper, and I had a difficult time choosing whether I trusted him or not.

A part of me felt like I was losing myself when I thought about it. I didn't want to completely drop everything just for one person. I still wanted friends and family to matter to me. I was not in love with Jasper. Imprinted was not that simple. But, it makes me realize that he is the one I am supposed to love; to be with. The wolf inside of me would never let me choose another in place of its selected mate. I knew that the reason I longed to be around him and please him so much more then I would've was due to the fact that he was taken. I longed for his acceptance, but I knew I wouldn't get it.

I was expecting the worst as we walked through the forest. We kept walking until we could no longer hear the others, and then walked some more. The silence was eating my worried insides. I could feel my legs trembling a bit. I was afraid of the words he would speak, afraid they would be too harsh to handle. I didn't want to break again, I couldn't stand to feel that raging pain ever again.

When Jasper finally stopped, I didn't know whether the reason I couldn't breathe was because of the stress and worry, or the absolutely breath taking view we stood before. There was a large drop, a suddenly cliff in the woods that went down about fifty or sixty feet. The view out about the rest of the forest was absolutely gorgeous. You could see the tips of every tree poking out at the peak of it's own steady height, some more eager to stand taller then the rest of their forest mates. The view provided little sight of the ground, considering the vast branching out of the trees kept most of the forest ground shielded by their top leaves.

Trying to catch my breath, I slowly turned to look at Jasper. He was staring back at me, his vibrantly golden eyes pulsing with his inner emotions. I felt almost paralyzed by him, unworthy of him. The being in front of me was worth so much more then I could ever hope to offer, and that would be why he would tell me we could never be. He would tell me that he loved Alice and that I could never take her place in his life. I wouldn't want to, if she made him happy. As long as he was happy and I could be near to see it, I could be happy, too. I knew even before I was a wolf that I could never compare to someone as amazing as Alice.

"Bella, sweetheart, your emotions are driving me crazy," Jasper murmured, his eyes searching for mine.

I pursed my lips. "I'm sorry..."

"I can feel that pain returning, you best stop what you're thinking now," He chastised, arching one brow at me.

Blinking in confusion, I tilted my head at him in inquiry.

"I can feel it when you hurt. Even when you're not within the normal range of my power, I can feel the pain you feel," Jasper said, his eyebrows drawing as though he had never had such a thing happen to him before him in his long life.

My mind instantly came to a very heartbreaking conclusion. All of the pain I had felt when separating myself from Jasper, he felt that, too. I felt an overwhelming guilt come over me in knowing that Jasper had also felt that crippling pain. It may not have been as intense for him, but even knowing that he had even felt a fraction of what I had feeling upset me. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been. Of course he would feel it. I knew from general imprint-knowledge that when the imprinter or imprintee felt something strong enough the other could feel it too. If Kim, Claire, or Emily had ever been upset, their imprinters would always know and be there sooner then one could imagine.

"Stop it, Bella," Jasper said sternly. "There isn't anything for you to be guilty for."

I wanted to protest, but knew it would do no good. A felt a calmness washing over me, rolling over my neck and down my shoulder in waves of warmth. It was almost a feeling as though being submerged in a nice, heated bath. It instantly soothed the edges of ones nerves, and I had never realized how comforting Jasper's power could be.

"What do you feel for me?" Jasper asked once the calm had it's effect on my nerves.

I choked on my own saliva, the calm dispersing away from my warm body. The utter bluntness of this question had me reeling for an answer. I couldn't just pull out of my head when there was so many to choose from. So many conflicting emotions were battling inside of me constantly, most facing off against my inner wolf and ultimately losing. My wolf knew what it wanted and it wouldn't stop until it got it, but it also knew that I had enough restraint to put a leash on it. If need be, I could have walked away from Jasper at that moment and lived in eternal pain as long as I knew it would've made him happy.

"Conflicted," I finally settled on, making him raise his eyebrow once more.

He motioned for me to elaborate.

"My imprinting on you opens up my feelings that may or may not have arose without it. Imprinting basically tells us who our soul mate is, the only mate our inner wolf will properly accept. When our inner wolf finds its intended, we imprint regardless of any situation. I love you, but I will not say that I am _in_ love with you, if that makes sense. We do not know each other enough nor does my imprinting suddenly make me feel that way. My imprinting does tell me that I should, however. I want to know you. I want to protect you. I want to make you happy," I said finally, inwardly coming to terms with my own feelings as I spoke them aloud.

Jasper was watching me carefully. "I was under the impression you wolves' imprinting meant instant love."

"No. No one can truly fall in love just like that, not even you vampires when you find your mates. I know that now from things the Elders have told us. I love and care for you right now as a friend and a protector, even if you don't need protecting. But the wolf in me has chosen you, which does mean that I won't be able to truly fall in love with anyone but you. It doesn't mean we have to be together, though. Being friends is fine. My brothers would disagree, because they were very quick to fall in love with their imprints but I'm not them. I don't have to fall in love with you. But a life without our imprint at all is agony. When one imprints and something happens that doesn't allow you to be with them, everything hurts. I learned that first hand when I tried to stay away from you. It literally feels like being ripped apart on the inside, and this intense longing that only makes it worse," I finished quietly.

Jasper leaned forward slightly, and I was overwhelmed with his scent as a strong gust of wind brushed against us. I closed my eyes for a moment, ignoring what he had to say as the wind caressed my skin. I ran it's tiny, smooth fingers through my short, wavy hair in a comforting motion. It were as though it were trying to comfort me from the overwhelming feelings I was going through.

It was going to be hard living without love. I had grown up with a mother that always needed a man in her life, some sort of love life to keep her stable. I had never wanted to be that and I had tried so hard. After seeing, however, what true and pure love can be I would always long for it. But if it made my imprint happy, I would endure eternity without it as long as I could remain at his side as a friend.

I, like other wolves, had mistaken my initial imprinting as love. I knew at that moment that I did not love him, but I wanted too. I wanted to get to know him, familiarize myself with him until my heart ached for him. I wanted him to feel the love as well, to love me. But he wouldn't. He had Alice. I kept having to tell myself that, or I would forget it. I would forget it and begin to hope. I didn't want the hope, because it would only see to help in crushing me even more.

"Why did you stay away if it was hurting you?" Jasper questioned, his eyes looking much darker.

"Because you have Alice," I whispered weakly, unable to make my voice louder. "And I know how happy she makes you. I could never think of trying to replace her in any way. I couldn't do that to her, or to you. And I didn't want to just come around and make her uncomfortable with the natural devotion that comes when imprinting."

Out of all the things Jasper could have said or done in that moment, the last thing I had expected him to do was chuckle. It wasn't a particularly long one or loud one, but it was a chuckle none the less. I just proclaimed that I would endure a life time of self suffering to make sure that he stayed happily, and he chuckled at me. Men.

"Alice and I," He began with a pause, mentally going over what he would like to say. "Have never really been actual mates."

I blinked once. Twice. Three times.

"We got together because eternity is a long time to spend alone. Alice saw that neither of us would find our mates for a long time so the two of us decided to spend our time together. I will admit that through it all we fell in love, but that's faded now. I care a great deal about her, but my romantic feelings have slowly been dwindling. The two of us will always be best friends, but Alice and I got a divorce a couple of days ago," Jasper explained, gaging my reactions carefully.

Mortified, I stammered out as my body began to shake: "W-what? Because of t-the imprint? Jasper you shouldn't let her go because of me-"

A wall of calm slammed into me suddenly, interrupting all train of thought as a pleasantly calm, numb rooted itself into my brain. It wasn't the pleasant trickles like before, but like being completely submerged in a pleasant warmth. The only way I could ever describe such a mind numbing feeling would be to describe it akin to covering up with a comforter that had just gotten out of the drier on a cold, winter day. It completely calmed my inner wolf, turning into a rumbling mess of instincts. It was no longer shaking it's chains, trying to break free. Now, it was just comfortably sitting within it's confines and doing it happily.

"This isn't just about your imprinting, Bella, don't worry yourself too much," Jasper said sternly. "Alice and I have been losing interest in each other for a while now. When I asked for the divorce she admitted to me herself that she has been getting visions of a pregnant woman. Alice thinks it's because her mate is about to be born. I will never deny my past with her, but we both knew in the beginning we weren't each others soul mates."

I allowed myself to calm down, trying to ignore the guilt gnawing on my insides. Alice and Jasper were divorced. What did that mean? How was I supposed to feel?

"I do feel something for you, Bella," Jasper said, his dark eyes finding mine as a few more waves of calm pulsed through my frozen body. "I can feel a pull. But I agree with what you said earlier. The two of us do not know enough of each other to start a relationship. Edward had always been keen on keeping you away from me because of me past, and we never got as close as we could've been. But, I would like to get to know you. As friends first, if you would allow, Ma'am."

My heart felt like it was going to burst. No wolf could ever experience a greater joy then their imprint allowing them into their lives. It was relieving, and I could no longer hold the hope away. Jasper was going to let me be a part of his life, and he was even implying that maybe if both of us ended up feeling the same we could be together. Nothing was standing in the way of that now. I could be in my imprints life, and nothing made me feel better.

"I'd like that," I whispered, nodding mostly in reassurance to myself.

Jasper smirked lightly at me, and we began to walk towards the house. I felt so much more comfortable, but I realized another problem that would soon arise. Hanging out with Jasper would mean that I would have to be around the rest of the Cullens. I wasn't sure if I was ready for that all. I didn't know how to feel about having them back in my life again after they had all hurt me so much. I wanted to forgive them and have everything be normal again, but the second they left nothing in my life had ever been normal. I couldn't allow myself to forgive them so quickly, because it still hurt to look them in the face after they had left me.

"I guess asking you to stay with us at the house is out of the question," Jasper mused, feeling my emotions.

I shook my head. "No... I'm not ready for that. I'll probably move in with Charlie again. Going back to Sam's, or even La Push at all, isn't an option anymore."

"Jacob told us that Sam wasn't going to let you come see us after the two of them fought," Jasper said, glancing at me.

"Sam went completely crazy," I said sadly, remembering the almost fatherly nature Sam had taken towards me before my imprinting. "He wouldn't let me phase or leave the house. He was a lot colder towards me. He was abusing the Alpha commands to make sure none of us disobeyed. Now, I realize the reason behind it was because Jacob's leaving the pack. I feel bad for the rest of my brothers and my new pack sister, having the stay under him when he's so command crazy."

Jasper's eyes darkened slightly. "Sounds like he needs to be taken down a couple pegs."

Pursing my lips, I nodded. "He does, but if Jacob has become an alpha like I think he has then the others have the option of leaving Sam if they want to. They just need to pledge their loyalty to Jacob as an instead of Sam, or defy Sam in some way. I think Paul, Embry, and I accidently moved into Jacob's pack when we made it over the treaty line. Since we're not part of Sam's pack, we can't hear his or his pack's thoughts now when phased."

Sam and his pack were no longer a problem to me. I had no desire to even see Sam again after what had happened. Whether I could forgive him, I didn't know. It was wrong for him to try and control us, and it was even worse that he had tried to forbid me from phasing or leaving his house. I would have to have Charlie transfer me back into Forks so that I could finish up the last bits of my high school. I had no desire to go to college, but I would need a job at some point. If I could get myself a decent paying job without having to go to college, that would probably be the way I would go.

Also, I had immortality to think about. Imprinting on Jasper meant that I never had to stop phasing. If a shapeshifter kept phasing, they wouldn't age. As long as I kept phasing, he and I would both live forever. But, sadly, it meant that my bloodline wouldn't carry on but I was hardly worried about that. My father had said that the reason the Swan line had dwindled so much had been because of so much marriage to people out of the tribe. It had been an oddity that I had even phased, the gene within me so small.

"You know, I just realized something," I said, my eyebrows drawing together slowly.

Jasper's eyes slid towards me, listening patiently.

"If Edward had never left, I never phased, and he some how gave in to changing me into a vampire, I quite possibly would've died. Us wolves die when infected with too much vampire venom, our bodies can't terminate the venom and the venom can't change our blood. Even though the Quileute in me is very, very small, that small part could've ended up keeping the venom from changing me and just killing me all together," I said aloud, just realizing that for the first time myself.

Jasper nodded, thinking it over himself. "That may be..."

When we got within distance of the others once more, I heard a startling growl coming from them. My shoulders straightened up, my eyes narrowing. We broke through the tree line, and Edward was staring the two of us down with ebony colored eyes. His arms were quivering, his lips pulled back into a snarl as he locked eyes with Jasper. He was absolutely furious, an intense anger drawing the caramel color from his eyes and replacing it with the ink of night.

My inner wolf didn't like how he was staring at my imprint, snapping and snarling in anger.

"Edward!" Esme said in reprimand, trying to draw Edward back into a civil state.

He completely ignored his mother figure. His eyes were completely locked onto Jasper. Jasper looked like a completely different person once he registered the danger in Edward. His face was trained completely blank, his own darkening eyes focusing on his brother with such rapt attention and evaluation that it sent shivers down my spine. He had suddenly straightened up into a different person, and I knew that this wasn't the same Jasper I had been speaking to in the forest. This Jasper knew danger. This Jasper knew pain. And this Jasper would kick Edward's ass if the teenaged vampire even blinked the wrong way.

Edward's eyes flickered, and he surged forward. I predicted the movement coming and the second he moved an inch I had already sprung into action. Before Jasper could retaliate like he had obviously planned on doing, I phased, shredding through the clothes that the Cullens had so kindly given me. Jasper could protect himself, that I knew, but for once I wanted to be the one to take Edward down a peg. I stood my ground in front of my imprint, letting out an angrily roar that had Edward freezing in his tracks. He skidded to a stop a few feet in front of me, his face shocked as he saw me protecting his brother from him.

"Bad move," I heard Jacob snicker off from the side.

I couldn't have agreed more.

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